


The Balmera's Crystal

by keithpoenewt



Series: Voltron Harry Potter Hogwarts AU [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Female Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Harry Potter AU, Hogwarts AU, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, M/M, Orphan Keith (Voltron), POV Lance (Voltron), Pidge | Katie Holt is Savage, Slow Burn, blood mentioned in chapter 13 but only a little, but hes more like an older brother to keith, he had a rough childhood, shiro basically adopts keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-10-30 03:33:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 58,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10868205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keithpoenewt/pseuds/keithpoenewt
Summary: Lance McClain has finally received his Hogwarts letter! He's been waiting for this moment for years! Going to Hogwarts with his best friend Hunk is a dream come true. With their new friends Pidge Holt and Keith Kogane, nothing can stand in their way! Well, except for the possibility of evil Lord Zarkon coming back to get his revenge. Will they be able to stop him? Or are they doomed?Your typical Harry Potter Hogwarts AU except it's based off of the first book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone.





	1. The Long-Awaited Letter

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr of artist: [burtburt0614](http://burtburt0614.tumblr.com) ([PurpleRoseNinja](http://archiveofourown.org/users/purpleroseninja))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first Voltron fic! What better way to start this off than with a Harry Potter AU? I haven't seen any full fics about the books so I thought I'd contribute my own!
> 
> Feedback and kudos are appreciated! If you see any mistakes, feel free to comment! Enjoy :)

Cover art below!

“ _ ¡Oye! _ ¡Marco, sal del pinche baño! Has estado allí por cuarenta y cinco minutos!” Carlos shouts angrily from the hallway.

It's too bad the walls of Lance’s house weren't soundproof, maybe then he could actually get a good night’s sleep for once. Oh well, it's too late now. He's already up, so might as well get out of bed.

Groaning, Lance rolls out of his bed and lands on the floor with a loud thud, hopefully retaliating enough at Carlos and Marco for disturbing his deep slumber. Lance slowly stands up and extends his arms out, stretching. His back cracks and he sighs in content.

Lance can't stay mad forever because today’s the day his Hogwarts letter should be arriving. He turns eleven years old today! Finally, the day of June 26 is here! Hunk, Lance’s best friend, has been waiting for this day since he turned eleven back in January. Hunk promised Lance he wouldn’t open his letter until Lance received his. They wanted to go to Diagon Alley together to pick out their wands and get their schools supplies.

Both Lance and Hunk come from a long line of Purebloods, people who only have magic heritage, so they’ve known each other for a long time. Their dads each work for the Ministry of Magic and their moms grew up together as childhood friends, which ultimately led to Lance and Hunk becoming best friends. Lance’s parents moved into the same neighborhood as Hunk’s parents before Lance and Hunk were even born! What a way to start a friendship, right? Their other house became too small and cramped because Lance’s family had gotten bigger. Marco, the youngest before Lance was born, outgrew his crib that had been in their parents’ room, but still was too young to share a room with his older brother, Carlos, so, naturally, they moved into a bigger house that would suit their family needs. Though, the final deciding factor was Lance himself.

His parents realized that their family would get even bigger, so they packed up everything and moved into a house that had enough bedrooms for the kids. The two oldest kids, Isabella and Carlos, each got their own rooms, the twins, Hannah and Lucy would share a room, and Marco and Lance would each get their own rooms too.

Once Lance was born, his mom would babysit him and Hunk when they were little. A friendship was quickly formed. They played together all the time and even attended the same muggle school (way before they received their Hogwarts letters of course). Hunk was always there for Lance whenever Marco was giving Lance a hard time, and they spent a lot of time at each other's houses. They were brought into each other's families: Hunk became a McClain and Lance became a Garett. They were brothers and would do anything for the other.

Since their families were so close, Hunk and his parents were there for Lance and his family when the evil wizard Zarkon broke into their house killed his mother. Lance was the only one who actually watched it happen because, since he’s the youngest, he spent most of his childhood at home with his mom.

He was only seven when he watched his mother die. Lance just took the trash out and was walking back inside when he heard the shattering of a plate.

_ CRASH _

_ Lance hurries back into the house. “Mamá?! What-” _

_ He stops in his tracks when he sees a male wizard pointing his wand at his mother. The man didn't even look human. His skin has an unearthly purple tone while his fingers look long and wrinkly. This is something that Lance would only find in his nightmares. He doesn't seem real. He couldn't be. _

_ “MOM!” _

_ His mother turns and her eyes widen. “Lance! Get out of here! You’re not safe here!” _

_ The male wizard turns and smirks when he sees Lance. “Finally! Ultimate power!” Where one would usually see black pupils with colored irises around it, the man’s eyes were entirely yellow, showing no signs of even being human. _

_ Lance’s mother steps between the wizard and Lance. “I won’t let you hurt him.” She glares at him. _

_ “Move out of the way. I don’t need to kill you and the boy. Just the boy will do,” the wizard replies, getting irritated. _

_ “Over my dead body!” Lance’s mom exclaims. _

_ The wizard shrugs. “Fine, suit yourself.” He raises his wand and shouts, “AVADA KEDAVRA!” _

_ A flash of green light explodes from the wand and slams into Lance’s mother, sending her back into the wall. Lance jumps out of the way and screams, “NO! MOM!” He turns back and faces the wizard, tears streaming down his cheeks. “How could you do this?!” _

_ “I warned her to move, but she didn’t listen. Now you’ll face the same fate as she has!” the wizard exclaims, raising his wand again. “AVADA KEDAVRA!” _

_ Lance shuts his eyes tightly as the green blast comes from the wand. He expects to be hit, but instead it backfires and slams into the wizard. Lance opens his eyes they widen in shock as the wizard poofs into black smoke and flies out of his house. _

“MARCO! YOU IDIOT! YOU CLEAN UP THIS MESS RIGHT NOW!” Isabella shouts from downstairs, interrupting Lance’s train of thought. “I TOLD YOU THAT PLATE WAS HOT!”

Lance rubs his temples and shakes his head.  _ It was just Marco being dumb _ , Lance reassures himself. He isn't watching his mother die again.

He shouldn't even be thinking about that right now. This is supposed to be a happy day. Besides, his mom wouldn’t want him to dwell on this. She’d want him to remember the happy things. His mom was amazing like that. Sometimes, when Lance was feeling lonely because his brothers and sisters went off to Hogwarts, his mom would tell him stories about her time at Hogwarts. The best memory, in Lance’s opinion, was the moment his parents met. At first they couldn’t stand each other because Lance’s dad liked to push his mom’s buttons and rile her up. They spent a lot of time in detention together, but during those times in detention, they grew closer until it blossomed into something new and beautiful. Lance hopes he finds someone like that when he gets to Hogwarts.

“LANCE! GET DOWN HERE NOW!” Isabella, yells from downstairs, breaking him out of his thoughts once again. “IT’S HERE!”

Lance immediately sprints out of his room and down the stairs, tripping over his brother, Marco. He barely manages to stick his arms out to avoid face planting into the ground, but his knee takes most of the blow. “Hey! Marco! What are you doing?!” Lance turns and glares at him.

Marco smirks up at him. “Trying to trip you. I think I succeeded.”

Lance rolls his eyes and steps over Marco, ignoring his laughter. He finds Isabella, the twins (Hannah and Lucy), Carlos, and his father, Luis.

Isabella graduated from Hogwarts last year, Carlos is two years younger than her so he’s going to be in his final year, Hannah and Lucy are both going into their fifth year, and Marco is going to be in his third year.

“Well, it took you long enough,” Isabella complains, handing Lance the letter.

Lance glares at her and snatches the letter from Isabella. A wide smile spreads across his face, replacing the scowl. “Can I get Hunk over here? We promised we’d open our letters together.”

“Wait, Hunk  _ still _ hasn’t opened his Hogwarts letter?!” Hannah asks in disbelief.

“Didn’t he receive it in like January? Why would he wait?” Lucy wonders.

Lance rolls his eyes. “I just told you why. We promised we’d open them together.”

Lucy raises her eyebrows. “ _ Mierda _ , I didn’t think that would actually happen.”

“Lucy, watch your mouth,” Luis scolds. He turns to Lance. “Sure Lance, you can bring Hunk over. I’m sure he’s-”

The doorbell rings, repeatedly, interrupting Luis.

“I GOT IT!” Marco yells from the other room. They hear the front door open. “Oh hey Hunk! What brings you-”

“DID IT COME?!” Hunk asks loudly. “DID LANCE’S LETTER COME?!”

“HUNK! GET IN HERE! I HAVE IT!” Lance shouts.

He hears the front door slam shut and Hunk rushes into the living room, clutching his letter tightly. Lance notices how worn down it is over the past months that Hunk has kept it. A small smile forms on Lance’s face, happy that Hunk kept his promise. Hunk looks at Lance with an excited smile on his face. “Ready?”

Lance nods happily and they both rip open their letters. He unfolds the paper and reads:

Lance rereads the first line of the letter numerous times, still in shock that he actually got his acceptance letter. It’s all so surreal! What if this was all just a dream and soon Lance would wake up and none of it would be true?

No, that’s impossible. His knee still hurts after tripping over Marco.  _ That prick _ , Lance thinks to himself. He’d avoid talking to his stupid brother as much as possible. Lance didn’t need to be constantly embarrassed and annoyed by Marco’s antics. Well, Lance wasn’t going to let him ruin his time at Hogwarts. He has Hunk to keep him company and to help avoid Marco.

“Lance, I’ve waited for this moment for five months,” Hunk says. “Honestly, it was so worth the wait! I’m gonna run home and show my parents! We have to send the owl out as soon as possible.”

Lance nods. “Yeah! Then we can go to Diagon Alley together and get our supplies!”

“HECK YEAH DUDE!” Hunk exclaims happily. “Oh man, I’m so pumped! Did you hear that they got a new headmaster?”

“They did?” Lance asks, he turns and looks at his three sisters and Carlos. “Did you guys know about this?”

Isabella shakes her head no. “I didn’t. Why, did the letter say something?”

“The letter is from the deputy headmistress,” Hunk answers.

“Headmistress? Oh, then yeah they must’ve gotten a new one. What is the deputy headmistress’s name?” Isabella wonders.

“Uhh-” Lance fumbles with his letter before opening it up- “Allura Quinn.”

“Professor Quinn?! She’s awesome! She’s the head of Gryffindor!” Marco exclaims. “Although, I think Professor Shirogane is cooler. He teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

“Yeah! Plus, he was in Allura’s grade too!” Isabella exclaims. “They both were in Gryffindor! I mean they were star Quidditch athletes so everyone thought they'd go to the big leagues. Opinions changed when they both were hired as professors.”

“Well, I’d love to stay and chat about this, but I really should get home. I kind of just sprinted out of my house without telling my parents. I’ll see you tomorrow Lance!” Hunk waves as he walks out of the house.

Lance turns to Luis. “Dad, we have to send in the owl saying I got the letter! Hunk and I need to get our stuff tomorrow!”

Luis chuckles. “Alright Lance, I will. Get me a paper, find the owl, and I’ll get right on it.”

Lance smiles widely and does as his father asks.  _ This is the beginning of the greatest years of my life! _ Lance thinks happily to himself. He hopes he can make his mother proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on my tumblr [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	2. The Wand Chooses the Wizard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and his family take a trip over to Diagon Alley to get Lance's supplies. Hunk and Lance get to witness what getting a wand looks and feels like! They also get to meet a classmate of theirs...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one week?! Lol, well, it's just for this week. I'll probably post chapter three next Wednesday or Thursday. I want to make sure they're the best they can be before I post them on here. Anyway, enjoy!

“Dad!” Lance whines. “Hurry up! I told Hunk we’d meet him by Gringotts and we’re already late!”

Luis hurries down the stairs. “I know, but Marco won’t get out of his room.”

Carlos trudges down the stairs, yawning. “Lance, stop yelling. It’s too early for your complaining.”

Lance sticks his tongue out at Carlos. “Sucks for you! You have to deal with me now!”

“I’m a prefect so I could technically bust you for doing stuff.” Carlos crosses his arms. “I’d watch yourself mister.”

Hannah and Lucy walk down the stairs. “Isa is trying to get Marco out of his room, but he’s not budging. She offered to bring him later to get his stuff.”

Luis sighs and rubs his forehead. “Fine, fine. Just get by the fireplace, alright?” He shoves Carlos and Lance in the direction of the large brick fireplace. “Carlos, you can go ahead and go with Lance.” He turns to Hannah and Lucy. “You two can follow too. I’ll just be a second.”

Lance turns from his father to his older brother and watches as he grabs a small handful of floo powder. “Watch and learn little brother,” Carlos says with a smirk as he steps into the fireplace. “Diagon Alley!” He throws the powder on the ground and Carlos disappears with a puff of smoke.

Hannah walks up and does the same. Lucy gestures for Lance to go before her. He grabs a small handful and steps in the fireplace. “Diagon Alley!” Lance exclaims before throwing the powder on the ground.

Lance likes to call himself an expert at using floo powder because, after all, this isn't his first rodeo. He feels himself kind of evaporate and dissolve from his fireplace and suddenly appear in the middle of the road. Lance smiles widely, looking around at all the familiar shops of Diagon Alley. Some of his favorites are Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor, Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, and Ollivanders. His mom always took him and Hunk there when they were little. His favorite flavor to get was Cookies ‘n Creme. Hunk would always get chocolate and vanilla twist.

Then there's Gambol and Japes. Boy, is that a fun store to go to! Carlos and his friends taught Lance and Hunk everything there is to know about the pranks in there. Lance hopes to pull some of his own once he gets to Hogwarts or gets to participate on a few with Carlos. Hunk probably won't want to participate, but Lance is determined to-

“Yo! Lance!” Hunk’s voice sounds from behind Lance, interrupting his thoughts.

Lance turns and sees Hunk waving to him in front of Gringotts. He rushes over to Hunk and hugs him. “Dude I’m so excited!” Lance exclaims.

Hunk chuckles. “Me too! My parents are just inside getting some galleons for the supplies. There’s actually a lot on the list.”

“I know right? But I have all of Lucy’s old first year books to use. She and Hannah fought over who’d get the new books and Lucy won. Hannah got stuck with Isa’s old books, but since Isa kept them in good shape, they still looked brand new. Lucy promised me all of her books after the years.” Lance smiles smugly.

Hunk chuckles. “Nice. I bet Marco was pissed.”

Lance nods. “Oh he was. He wouldn’t speak to Lucy and I for two months!”

“Don’t forget you’re Lucy’s favorite,” Hannah says, walking up next to Hunk and Lance with Carlos. “I, on the other hand, can’t stand you.”

Carlos turns to Hannah. “Oh come on Hannah. Lance is way less annoying than Marco.”

Hannah thinks for a moment, then nods. “Yeah, you’re right. I’d rather put up with Lance than I would Marco.”

Lance pouts and crosses his arms. “Rude!”

Hunk, Hannah, and Carlos chuckle at Lance as Luis and Lucy finally appear in the street from using the floo powder, joining them. “Alright, you four stay here - oh hello Hunk. Nice to see you.” Luis smiles at Hunk.

Hunk smiles politely back at Luis. “Hi Mr. McClain.”

Luis pats Hunk on the shoulder before turning back to his own kids. “Okay, you four hang out right here while I go inside to get the galleons I need for Lance’s wand and supplies.”

The four McClain kids nod and watch as their dad walks into Gringotts. Hannah sighs sadly. “Dad is so stressed. If Marco would just listen then maybe-”

“Hannah,” Carlos warns. “Don’t go there. Isa is dealing with Marco.”

Lucy nods in agreement. “Besides, Marco is eventually going to have to grow up.”

Lance turns and looks at Hunk with an unsure expression on his face. He doesn't like seeing his family argue, but it can't always be stopped. Carlos and Lucy always gang up on Hannah whenever they argue about their dad’s stress and about their mom. Isabella does what she can, but everyone knows she’ll never replace Rosa McClain.

Lance breaks out of his thoughts when Hannah squeals loudly. “OH MY GOD! LOOK!” She points out across the road. “That's Professor Shirogane!” She sighs dreamily. “Isn't he just amazing?”

Lucy gives Hannah an irritated glare before looking over. “Wait, who's that with him?”

Lance turns and sees a boy standing next to the Hogwarts professor. He has raven black hair that goes to just cover his ears and bangs that cover his eyes slightly. He doesn't look happy either.

“I didn't know he had a kid,” Carlos comments.

“I don't think he does. Maybe that's a nephew or something,” Hannah suggests.

“Actually, you're both wrong.” Luis says, walking out of Gringotts with Mr. and Mrs. Garett. “That's one of Lance’s new classmates. Takashi offered to take him to get his supplies for the year. He told us at one of the meetings at the Ministry before he was elected headmaster. I-”

“Wait, are you saying Professor Shirogane is the new headmaster!?” Hannah asks excitedly. “THAT’S AMAZING!”

Carlos winces. “Hannah, chill.” He turns to Luis. “Why did he get picked? Professor Holt has been teaching there longer.”

Luis shakes his head no. “I'm not allowed to say…it's confidential.”

“Okay, well, can you tell us why he took that kid in?” Carlos asks.

“His parents died when he was a baby. That's all I can say on the matter,” Luis replies.

Lance furrows his eyebrows slightly. He couldn't imagine growing up in an orphanage his entire life. A part of him wants to go over and say hello, but he decides against it. He turns back to Luis. “Can we go get my wand now?” He feels slightly bad about changing the subject, but he really wants to get his wand. Lance had no idea who that boy was so why should he care?

Carlos chuckles. “Dad, if you wanna take Lance over to Ollivander’s, Lucy, Hannah, and I can start getting the other stuff Lance needs.”

Luis smiles at Carlos. “Yes, thank you Carlos. That would be very helpful.” Luis hands Carlos the list. “If you finish before us, you know where to find us, if not meet back here in one hour, alright?”

Carlos, Hannah, and Lucy nod then walk away. Lance turns to Hunk. “Are you getting your wand now too?”

Hunk looks at his parents with puppy dog eyes. Hunk’s mom chuckles then nods. “Yes Hunk, we can get your wand now too.”

Hunk smiles widely and hugs his mom before taking off with Lance over to Ollivander’s. They walk inside and their jaws drop when they see the tall walls lined with wands. Who knew there were so many?!

“Oh! Takashi Shirogane! What an honor it is to have you here…how may I help you?” the man behind the counter asks. He stands up and walks over to the professor and the boy.

Lance guesses that the man is Ollivander himself. He gets a better view and notices the crazy white-grey hair Ollivander has. He has bushy eyebrows and matching white-grey sideburns. He may look a little insane, but his face shows kindness, and he seems to have a warm, comforting personality.

“Hello Garrick. I am here with Keith to help him get a wand,” Professor Shirogane answers.

The boy, Keith, crosses his arms again. “Shiro, you said this would be easy. There are like a bajillion wands in here! How am I going to find one!?”

Ollivander chuckles. “That's why I'm here to help!” He motions for Keith to follow him to the center of the room. Keith turns to Professor Shirogane, looking slightly nervous.

Ollivander seems to notice Keith's nervousness, so he walks back over to him. “Keith, right?” Keith nods and Ollivander takes a knee in front of him. “You have nothing worry about. Every witch and wizard who comes in here always leave with the perfect wand suited for them and you're no different.”

Keith looks at the ground and shuffles his feet. “But what if there isn't one? Nothing ever goes right for me.”

Ollivander puts a hand on Keith's shoulder. “I promise you I won't fail you, Keith. You can trust me.”

A wide smile forms on Keith face and he nods. “Okay…I’m ready.”

Ollivander smiles and stands back up. “Alright, now let's try some different kinds of wands. Each one is unique and I have to find one to match your unique personality.” He goes to one of the shelves and looks for a specific wand.

Lance turns to Hunk with an excited grin. “We get to see what finding a wand is really like!”

Hunk nods. “I know! It's exciting!”

Lance looks back at Keith and Ollivander when he comes back with a box. He opens it and pulls out a white wand with a vine design around the handle. “An eleven and a half inches aspen wood with unicorn hair core with a slight bend,” Ollivander explains. He hands it to Keith. “I would like you to say the spell Lumos, alright?”

Keith nods and holds the wand up. “Lumos.” The wand glows for a second but quickly goes out.

Ollivander shakes his head. “Nope, that is definitely not the wand.” He takes it back and goes to grab a new box. Ollivander pulls out a very shiny black wand with what Lance believes to be thorns coming out around two thirds of the way up, skipping the first third where one holds the wand.

“Ooh this one is cool!” Keith exclaims. He happily takes the wand from Ollivander. “This thirteen and three quarter inches blackthorn wood wand has a dragon heartstring core. It's also fairly flexible.” Ollivander strokes his chin. “Hmm, the length fits you nicely. Try the Lumos spell again.”

Keith nods and holds the wand up. “Lumos!” A burst of light comes from the wand, making the lights in the store flicker. Ollivander scrambles for the wand and takes it out of Keith's hand.

“That one is much too unstable,” Ollivander says. “You need a wand to match your personality, Keith.” He pauses for a moment. “I think I have the right idea, but it's a risky one.” He walks to the other side of the store and comes back with a red box. Ollivander opens it, revealing a simple brown wand with an elegant, almost braid-like design on the handle. “This wand is not one of the usual ones I sell. It is made from acacia wood with a Phoenix feather core. It's thirteen and three quarter inches long so it should fit nicely.”

Keith lifts it out of the box slowly and holds it up. His eyes widen slightly as he stares at the wand more. “Lumos.”

The wand glows brightly and remains glowing. Keith's violet eyes reflect the light, showing something Lance hadn't seen from him yet, joy.

“Good! Now say the counter spell, Nox.” Ollivander says.

Keith nods. “Nox.” The wand stops glowing and Keith looks at Ollivander with wide eyes.

“That is a perfect match for you young man. The wand has chosen you!” Ollivander exclaims happily.

Keith smiles again and Lance can't help but smile too. He gets a warm feeling in his stomach after seeing this. He feels hope that he'll be able to find the perfect wand for himself.

The door jingles and Hunk’s parents and Luis walk in. Professor Shirogane turns and smiles when he sees them. “Oh! Luis, Kai, Lana! What a surprise to see you here.”

“Ah, well, Lance and Hunk are finally able to attend Hogwarts. We're here to get them their wands,” Luis explains. He gestures for Lance and Hunk to walk over. “Boys, come meet the Headmaster.”

Lance and Hunk walk over to the adults and Keith. Lance smiles widely. “Hello! I like your wand. It's cool!” He points to the wand Keith is holding.

Keith steps behind Professor Shirogane slightly. He must be shy. “Keith, don't be rude,” Professor Shirogane scolds him slightly.

Keith glares at him before turning back to Lance. “Thank you.”

Lance gives Keith a wide smile. “You're welcome! I hope my wand is that cool!”

“Well, why don't we get you started then young man?” Ollivander asks with a warm smile. He walks over to one of the large shelves of wands and pulls out a brown box. Ollivander opens the box to reveal a smooth, reddish brown wand. “Twelve inch red oak wood with a dragon heartstring core. It has a slight bend to it.”

Keith pulls Professor Shirogane’s cloak and points at the door. “Alright Keith, we can leave,” he says with a sigh. “We’ll see you around Garrick.”

Ollivander waves to them as Lance takes the wand from him, looking at it. It's a very pretty wand, but Lance doesn't feel anything special about it.

“Well, go on and try saying Lumos,” Ollivander says.

Lance takes a deep breath then holds up the wand. “Lumos!”

A spark of light comes from the wand and nearly knocks over a stack of wand boxes.

Ollivander quickly takes the wand back from Lance. “Hmm. I have a hunch, but it's a stretch.” He shrugs. “Oh well!” Ollivander heads over to the wall where he found Keith's wand and walks back over with a blue box. He opens the box and reveals an elegant light brown wand with braided designs on the handle and right above it.

Lance immediately falls in love with it. He quickly takes it out of the box and smiles widely. “This is an eleven inch cedar wood. It's fairly flexible and made with a Phoenix feather core,” Ollivander explains. “Go on and try the Lumos spell.”

“Lumos!” A burst of white light comes from the tip of the wand and makes the room ten times brighter. Lance smiles widely. “Nox!” The light immediately dims and the room goes back to normal.

“Excellent!” Ollivander exclaims. His eyes narrow after a second. “Hold on, may I see the wand again?”

Lance nods and hands the wand back over to Ollivander. He looks over the wand closely. Luis becomes worried and steps forward. “Is something wrong with the wand?”

“Oh, no! Of course not,” Ollivander reassures him. “This is just very strange.”

“What is?” Lance wonders.

“Well this wand was made from the same Phoenix as the boy who was just in here with the Headmaster,” Ollivander explains.

Lance looks at his father then back at the wandmaker. “What does that mean?”

“It means that your wands are brothers. They are connected with each other. If used against each other, they would simply cancel each other out, but if used together…well let's just say it would be almost impossible to beat them…” Ollivander trails off for a couple seconds before speaking again with a happier tone. “Well! We still have another young man to get a wand for!” He turns to Hunk. “Ah, I think I already know the perfect match for you.” He smiles then wanders towards the front of the store and returns with a yellow box. Hunk pulls out the wand. It's similar to Lance’s color of wand, but looks different. It has ridges in the wood, evenly spaced out. The handle of the wand reminds him of the poles you'd see on railings on stairways. “This unyielding wand is made from elm wood with a unicorn hair core. It's fourteen and a half inches long. Would you mind saying the Lumos spell?”

Hunk nods then takes a deep breath. “Lumos!” The wand glows brightly like Lance’s and Keith’s did when they found their match. Lance expects to see it die out or something explode, but he's surprised to see the wand stay glowing. “I did it!”

“Nice Hunk!” Lance exclaims.

“Nox,” Hunk says firmly and the wand stops glowing immediately.

Ollivander claps. “Amazing! I knew that one was a perfect fit for you!”

“Alright, you two can wait outside while we pay,” Luis says, pointing at the door.

Lance and Hunk laugh then rush out of the store. They spot Lucy, Hannah, and Carlos by Gringotts and rush over to them. “GUYS LOOK! WE GOT OUR WANDS!” Lance exclaims happily.

Lucy pulls Lance in for a tight hug. “How many wands did you have to go through?”

“Only one! I got this on my second try!” Lance exclaims happily.

“I got mine on my first try!” Hunk adds with a smile.

Carlos gives Hunk a high five. “I wouldn't be surprised if you get placed in Ravenclaw, Hunk.”

“What makes you say that?” Hunk asks.

Hannah laughs. “You're obviously really smart, but I can also see you in Hufflepuff.”

“Aww! Hunk would do so well in Hufflepuff!” Lucy exclaims. She bends down slightly and rests her chin on Lance’s head.

“What about me!?” Lance implores.

“You better be in Gryffindor,” Carlos warns. “All of us are and if you're not, you'd be a disgrace to the McClain name.”

Hannah smacks Carlos’s arm. “Don't scare him! You should've been in Slytherin!”

Carlos smirks. “And yet, there I was placed in Gryffindor.”

Lance tilts his head in confusion. “What's so bad about Slytherin?”

“There's nothing wrong with Slytherin. Hannah is just being stupid,” Lucy reassures Lance.

“Slytherin has Galra Phantoms! He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself was in that house!” Hannah exclaims.

Lucy rolls her eyes. “So what? I'm friends with plenty of Slytherin and they're all nice!”

“Are you referring to those pricks who started that nasty rumor about you last year?” Carlos asks Lucy with a smug expression. She pouts and crosses her arms, turning away from Carlos.

Hannah looks down at Lance. “You just better watch out Lance. Do not trust anyone in Slytherin because all they’ll do is wait for the perfect moment to stab you in the back.”

Lance furrows his eyebrows and looks over at Hunk. He simply shrugs in response. How could they know that all Slytherin were bad people? That just isn’t possible! Lance promised himself that if he did meet a nice Slytherin, he’d be their friend. Besides, what harm could it do? Lance had Hunk too so the Slytherin kid would be outnumbered! There’s no way they could betray himself and Hunk!

“Lance, do you hear me? I’m warning you only because I care about you,” Hannah justifies, interrupting Lance's train of thought.

Lance nods. “Yeah yeah, I hear you Hannah.”

Hannah smiles at Lance then ruffles his hair. Her attention leaves Lance and goes to Luis when he and Hunk’s parents come back from Ollivander’s. Marco and Isabella still aren’t here, but Lance noticed Carlos, Hannah, and Lucy already picked up what Marco needed. Still, he wonders why he didn't come. Marco loves coming to Diagon Alley.

“Alright, now why don’t we head over to Eeylops Owl Emporium to get Lance an owl, hmm?” Luis asks with a twinkle to his eyes.

Lance’s face lights up with joy, already forgetting about his annoying brother. “Oh really?! Yes! Thank you dad!”

Hunk taps Lance on the shoulder. “I’ll see you later dude. My parents are taking me to get fitted for robes.”

“Oh! See you later buddy!” Lance exclaims after Hunk before following his dad and siblings over to the owl shop.

They walk into the store, immediately hearing cages rattling and owls hooting. The cages line the walls and aisleways of the shop. Lance smiles widely and begins looking at all the different owls. They come in all different colors, shapes, and sizes! He finds a lot of them pretty and cool, but none seem to stick out to him.

Once Lance reaches the end of the row, he notices a quiet owl. He approaches the cage slowly and looks inside. The owl stares back at him with big blue eyes. She tilts her head slightly and coos at Lance.

“Aren't you a pretty one?” Lance laughs and sticks his fingers through the cage bars. “Hello!”

The owl nuzzles up against Lance’s fingers and blinks at him.

“LANCE! WHERE DID YOU - oh! Hey I found him!” Carlos exclaims. “Find an owl you like?”

Lance nods and points to the one in front of him. She ruffles her grey feathers, some of them having a slight blue tint to them. Lance thinks that she had to be one of the most beautiful owls here. “I like her! She's pretty!”

Lucy and Hannah come running over to them. “We've been - OH MY GOD THAT OWL IS SO CUTE!” Hannah shouts excitedly. “She even has blue in her feathers that match her eyes!”

Lance giggles when the owl rubs against his fingers again. “I think she likes me.”

“I'll go find dad!” Lucy exclaims, rushing off to go find Luis.

Carlos turns back to Lance. “What are you gonna name her?”

Lance ponders for a moment, looking at the owl again. Her feathers ruffle again, mixing up the greys and blues before straightening out once again. She stares back at him and winks! Wow! She actually  _ winked _ at him! Lance couldn't believe it. Oh, wait a second. That gives him an idea!

“Blue,” Lance says finally. “I'm naming her Blue.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm really excited to see where I take this! As always, hmu on tumblr if you have any serious questions [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)


	3. The Hogwarts Express

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally Lance and Hunk are heading to Hogwarts! They'll meet a new friend on the train...who could it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on the chapter being posted! But it's up now! Enjoy!

Lance hardly keeps still during the car ride to the train station. He went through the wall to get to platform 9 ¾ numerous times before because of his siblings, but never actually for himself. This is a big moment for him! He'll actually be going on the train this time! Hunk promised to sit next to him on the train, but Lance is also excited to meet some new friends. Maybe he'll see Keith! He seemed cold and distant at first, but Lance bets that it's just an act because he's shy. He's determined to be Keith's friend.

“Lance! Get out of la-la land and grab your stuff!” Isabella orders. “We’re on a tight schedule and you guys can't miss the train!”

Lance hurries out of the car, accidentally slamming into Marco in the process. “Aye! Marco!  _ ¡Qué mierda! _ ” Lance glares at his brother.

“Language Lance!” Isabella yells, shoving a cart at Lance. “Move towards the wall between platforms nine and ten! Marco! Stop being an idiot and move!” She points over to where Carlos, Hannah, and Lucy are waiting.

Marco and Lance join them and Isabella and Luis walk over. “Okay kids, you know the drill. Carlos, you get to go first,” Luis says.

Carlos smirks and runs at the wall, suddenly vanishing before he smacks into it. Lucy and Hannah follow immediately after him then Marco walks through. Isabella ruffles Lance’s hair lovingly before following after Marco. Lance turns and looks up at Luis. “Dad? Will you be upset if I don't get placed in Gryffindor?”

Luis chuckles and kneels down in front of Lance. “Although I'd love for you to continue the McClain tradition of being on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, I would not be upset with you. You'll do amazing in whatever house you get sorted into.”

Lance looks at the ground. “What if I get put in Slytherin? Hannah says that house is bad.”

Luis sighs. “Ignore anything bad your siblings say. You have to form your own opinions on things.” He lifts Lance’s chin up. “Besides, the Hat almost put me in Slytherin. It was torn between that house and Gryffindor. I asked for Gryffindor and the Hat complied. It takes your wants into consideration too, so don't be afraid to ask for a house.” Luis smiles warmly at Lance and ruffles his hair. “Come on, let's get you on that train, alright?”

Lance giggles and smiles widely. Luis guides him through the wall and the loud engine of the Hogwarts Express sounds. Lance looks around at all the different witches and wizards heading to Hogwarts. He spots Carlos already talking with his friends as they get on the train. Hannah and Lucy find their friends and board the train with them.

“LANCE!” a voice yells, interrupting Lance’s thoughts.

Lance whirls around and sees Hunk running over to him, almost barreling him over in a bear hug. “Hunk!” Lance exclaims. “What's up?”

“I was worried I wouldn't find you! Come on! We have to get seats together!” Hunk exclaims.

Lance turns to Luis and gives him a quick hug goodbye then follows Hunk. Lance’s stuff would be loaded where everyone else's is. The two boys look for an empty seat compartment but stop when they hear two voices arguing.

“Matt! I don't want to sit with you and dad by the teachers!” a young, female voice complains.

“Katie-” a tired male voice starts.

“No! Don't you  _ Katie _ me! I'm sitting in this compartment and you can't stop me!” the girl interrupts.

Lance and Hunk slowly make their way to the arguing voices and find a young witch arguing with what Lance concludes is one of the teachers. “Uh hi! Is there something wrong?” Lance wonders politely.

The girl turns around and looks at Lance and Hunk with wide light brown eyes. Her light brown hair reaches just to her shoulders. “My stupid brother wants me to sit up by the teachers. I'm fine in this compartment by myself!”

The girl’s brother sighs. “She's starting Hogwarts two years early and she doesn't understand that sitting alone won't look good.”

The girl crosses her arms. “Matt, I already told you that I didn't care!”

“Well I care!” Matt, her brother, exclaims.

“Well, Lance and I were actually looking for somewhere to sit. Could we join you?” Hunk asks, looking at the girl.

Matt’s expression brightens and he smiles down at his sister. The girl slugs Matt before looking back at Hunk. “Sure! It'll shut this doofus up so I'm all for it.”

Lance and Hunk chuckle then walk into the compartment and sit down. Matt waves goodbye then walks to where the teachers sit. “I'm Katie Holt, but you can call me Pidge,” the girl says.

“Is Pidge a nickname?” Lance asks.

“Yeah, my brother gave it to me when I was little,” Pidge answers. “What are your guys’ names?”

“I'm Lance McClain,” Lance shares.

“I'm Tsuyoshi Garett, but I go by Hunk,” Hunk shares.

Pidge smiles. “I see you've got a cool nickname too.”

Hunk chuckles. “Thank you! Lance gave it to me when we were little.”

“That's cool!” Pidge exclaims.

“So, uh, your brother is a professor?” Lance asks, creating a conversation.

Pidge nods. “Yep! He teaches astronomy and announces at Quidditch games. Shiro usually has to yell at him whenever he gets off topic announcing. I think it's funny. He was in Ravenclaw when he went to Hogwarts. I'm hoping to get placed in there too. My dad is the charms professor,” she rambles on quickly.

“What kinds of things would your brother say?” Hunk wonders.

“Well, when he went to Hogwarts he was still the announcer. Shiro was in his same year but was in Gryffindor - same with Allura.” Pidge pauses to snicker. “He'd always say things like ‘Takashi with another nice pass to Allura! I wonder if he knows how to pass anyone else the ball!’ or ‘oh! Nasty hit to Allura by a bludger! Look at that! Takashi immediately checking if she's okay. If only he'd be this concerned about winning the actual game as he is about Allura!’”

Lance and Hunk burst out laughing. “Amazing!” Lance exclaims. “Your brother sounds awesome!”

Pidge smiles widely. “He is. They were just jokes and didn’t mean anything. Shiro and Allura were just friends back then. Besides, apparently Allura liked someone else, but Matt never found out who. They graduated three years before Matt, Allura, and Shiro did so he was too late to find out.” She shifts in her seat. “So did you hear that Shiro, the headmaster keep in mind, took in someone? Yeah, Matt says his name is Keith Kogane…the kid whose parents were murdered by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!”

Lance exchanges a shocked expression with Hunk. “Wait what!? That's — oh wow.”

Pidge tilts her head in confusion. “What are you talking about, Lance?”

“My mamá was killed by him. I watched it happen.” Lance looks out the train window, watching the grasslands and trees fly past. “I was seven.”

A hand pats his thigh and Lance turns to see Pidge smiling at him. “It's okay Lance! You can borrow my mom whenever you need to! She'll love you!”

Lance smiles fondly at Pidge. “Thank you Pidge. That means a lot.”

They talk for the rest of the train ride to Hogwarts then get off with each other. A man with vivid orange hair and equally bright mustache along with a creature with four sets of arms directs the first years when they get off the train. Lance looks around and admires the trees and scenery. He notices the older students getting on some carriages being pulled by some strange creatures. What could-

“Alright! First years this way! Don't get left behind!” the mustache man exclaims, interrupting Lance’s thoughts.

“There is a forty percent chance someone will get lost! It is far too high! We must contact the headmaster and tell him to cancel the school year!” the eight-armed creature exclaims.

“Slav, no. We're not canceling the school year!” Matt yells at him as he gets off the train, walking over to the mustache man and the eight-arm creature, Slav. “What's the matter with you!?”

Pidge, Lance, and Hunk exchange wide smiles then walk over to them. Lance sees Professor Shirogane and a woman with long, curly white hair and brown skin get off the train where Matt got off. Slav jumps and screams when he sees Pidge. He lands on Professor Shirogane's shoulders and points at Pidge. “WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE!?”

Pidge giggles. “Hi Slav! Did you miss me!?”

Professor Shirogane sighs and rubs his forehead. “Slav, please get a hold of yourself!”

“No!” Slav protests. “There is a sixty seven percent chance of higher survival if I remain up here on your shoulders.”

Professor Shirogane looks at the woman next to him. “Allura, remind me again why he was hired?”

She smiles and holds her hand out for Slav. “Because he is brilliant at what he does and we are lucky to have him. Plus he has been here much longer than we have.”

Slav cautiously accepts her hand with his uppermost right hand and she helps him down off of Professor Shirogane. He finally notices Lance and Hunk. “Oh! You two look promising!”

Professor Shirogane facepalms. “Kill me.”

Allura slaps his arm lightly. “Be kind Shiro.” Huh…Keith called him the same thing.  _ Weird _ , Lance thinks to himself.

She turns to Lance and Hunk. “Hello, I am the deputy headmistress, Allura Quinn the head of Gryffindor house. Who might you two be?”

“I'm Lance McClain!” Lance exclaims.

“I'm Tsuyoshi Garett, Hunk for short,” Hunk says.

She smiles at Hunk then turns to Lance. “McClain…that is familiar,” Allura says. “Are you related to the other McClain's here? Carlos, Hannah, Lucy, and Marco?”

Lance nods. “I'm the youngest!”

Allura chuckles. “I see that! Well, I have to get going. I hope next time I see you, you are in Gryffindor robes.”

She takes Shiro's arm and they walk away. Matt ruffles Pidge’s hair then follows after them. Slav ushers Lance, Hunk, and Pidge into a boat along with two other first years. “Do not rock the boat because then there is a seventy eight percent chance the boat will tip!”

“Slav! Don't scare the kids!” the mustache man scolds.

“Sorry Coran, but it is the truth!” Slav defends. He waves goodbye as the boat sails away with Lance, Pidge, and Hunk on it.

“Well, Slav is…interesting,” Lance says slowly.

Pidge giggles. “He likes to get on Shiro’s nerves, but he's really cool too. We won't have him until third year, but if any of us get into Ravenclaw then you'll see a lot of him!”

“Oh…joy,” Lance says with fake enthusiasm.

Pidge glares at Lance. “You're mean!”

Lance chuckles and pokes her cheek. “I'm kidding Pidgey. He seems cool. I-”

He trails off when he sees the large castle drawing closer. His jaw drops as he basks in the size of it. The tall towers make the entire thing look like a fortress. Lights flicker in various windows of the castle. A wide smile spreads across Lance’s face as he turns to his two friends. They look back at him with equally excited smiles.

At that moment, Lance knew the next few years he would spend at Hogwarts would be unforgettable.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on tumblr [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. The Sorting Hat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorting day is finally here! Our four favorite students are placed into their respective houses, but not all of them are happy with the outcome...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of these chapters are pre-written since it took a while for my AO3 account to set up so you should expect two chapters a week until I run out of pre-written stuff. The only reason why it's delayed is because I'm waiting for my friend to finish the drawings. Anyway, enjoy! :)

“Guys I'm so nervous,” Hunk trembles as he, Lance, and Pidge walk into the Great Hall with the rest of the first years.

Lance pats Hunk on the back. “It'll be fine dude! There's no need to be worried.”

“What house do you want Hunk?” Pidge asks.

“I don't know! Just not Slytherin…Lance’s siblings said anyone from that house is bad!” Hunk exclaims.

Pidge waves her hand dismissively at Hunk. “Don't worry, you definitely don't belong in that house. None of us do.”

“What do you mean by that?” Lance wonders.

Pidge looks around before pointing towards a kid standing alone, leaning against a wall. “Someone like him goes into Slytherin. At least that’s what Matt told me.”

Lance looks over to where Pidge is pointing and recognizes the boy as Keith Kogane, the shy boy he and Hunk met at Ollivander’s. He knew he shouldn't be saying mean stuff about Keith behind his back, but Lance chooses to say nothing instead of defending Keith to Pidge.

The mustache man, Coran, leads the first years into the Great Hall and to the empty table that was set up just for this occasion. “Come along, we don't have all day!”

Once all the first years are seated, Shiro walks up to the podium and gestures for everyone to be quiet. “Hello everyone! I am Takashi Shirogane, but you all can call me Shiro for short, and I am the new headmaster here at Hogwarts. It's my pleasure to formally welcome our new group of first years!” He claps and the rest of the Great Hall claps with him. Once the clapping dies down, Shiro continues. “And, of course, welcome back returning students. I always look forward to the start of each year because it's nice to see the first years get sorted into different houses and now that I'm the headmaster, I get to speak to all of you today and for years to come. Now, I don't mean to be biased, but, in my personal opinion, Gryffindor is the best-”

That earns loud cheers from the entire Gryffindor table. Lance turns to Pidge and Hunk and smiles. Pidge’s smile goes away when she sees Matt make his way over to Shiro. “Oh no…here we go.”

Matt marches up to the podium and shoves the headmaster aside. “I'm sorry I think the headmaster’s opinion is flawed. He meant to say that Ravenclaw is the best!”

The Ravenclaw table cheers loudly and laughs at the Gryffindor table. Lance looks back at the teachers’ table and sees Allura making her way over to the arguing Shiro and Matt. She pushes them slightly away from each other and steps up to the podium. “My deepest apologies. Sometimes the headmaster can be a little childish when riled up by old friends.” She points at the teacher’s table and Matt and Shiro sulk back to their seats. “Anyway, let the Sorting Hat Ceremony begin!”

Allura begins listing off names and, slowly, kids start getting sorted into houses. Lance can't wait any longer for his name to be called. He just wants to be sorted into a house! It’s Lance’s turn to keep the tradition of the McClains being in Gryffindor going and he can't let his family down.

He breaks out of his thoughts when he hears Hunk’s name get called. Hunk turns to Lance with wide eyes. “I can't do this. I'm gonna puke!” Hunk exclaims.

“You got it dude! Just breathe and go with the flow! You have nothing to worry about,” Lance reassures Hunk.

Hunk nods and Lance watches as he walks to the front of the Great Hall and sits on the stool. Allura places the Sorting Hat on his head and silence sweeps over everyone as they all wait in anticipation to hear what house Hunk will be placed in.

Several agonizing minutes pass before the Sorting Hat finally speaks saying, “HUFFLEPUFF!”

The Hufflepuff table cheers loudly as they welcome their new member over. Hunk meets Lance’s gaze and waves to him. Lance smiles widely and waves back.

More names are called and then Allura announces, “Katherine Holt.”

Pidge stands up and smiles at Lance before walking up to the stool and sitting down. It takes a lot less time for the Sorting Hat to announce Pidge’s house. “RAVENCLAW!”

The Ravenclaw table cheers and welcomes their new member. Lance zones out slightly, thoughts drifting towards Keith. He really feels bad about not defending him to Pidge earlier, but he didn’t want to upset his new friend. Lance turns and sees Keith sitting alone at the end of one of the tables. He’s playing with the handle of his wand, waiting for his own name to be called. Lance’s heart hurts to see him sitting alone, but he doesn’t want to be too forcing. Keith was already shy enough at Ollivander’s so Lance should probably take it slow. Maybe Hunk could warm Keith up! He’s really easy to be friends with because Hunk is a good listener.

“Lance McClain!” Allura announces, interrupting Lance’s thoughts. He stands and makes his way over to the stool and sits down. Allura places the Sorting Hat on Lance’s head.

_ I see we have another McClain in our midst. You wish to be placed in Gryffindor to make your family proud? Oh, but you'd thrive just as well in Ravenclaw! _ The Sorting Hat says into his mind.

_ I don't think I would _ . Lance thinks.  _ I'm not that smart. _

_ I see much potential in you, but I can allow for Gryffindor. You will also do great things there. _ The Hat speaks in his head. “GRYFFINDOR!” the Hat exclaims out loud.

The Gryffindor table erupts in cheers and Lance makes his way over to the table. Carlos gives him a thumbs up from where he's sitting. Lucy and Hannah stand up from their seats and rush to engulf Lance in a hug. “We’re so proud of you!” Hannah exclaims.

“I knew you'd be placed here,” Lucy adds, kissing Lance’s forehead.

Lance waves goodbye to his sisters then sits down and begins chatting with the other first years.

More names are called, passing right over Lance’s head, but the last name catches his attention. “Keith Kogane,” Allura says.

Each table begins murmuring and whispering to each other. Lance can catch some of the things people are saying. Most of them are talking about how Shiro took him in and that his parents were killed.

“I hear he's a muggleborn,” a first year next to Lance comments.

Lance turns and looks at the kid. “He's what? A muggleborn?”

The kid nods. “He definitely isn't getting placed in Slytherin that's for sure.”

Lance turns back to see Keith walk up to the stool. Keith turns and looks at Shiro, clearly unsure about this. He gives Keith a reassuring smile and he sits down, still looking kind of nervous. Allura places the Sorting Hat on his head.

Occasionally his face furrows in frustration. He's probably arguing with the Hat. About four minutes pass and still nothing comes from the Hat. Lance notices Shiro starting to whisper with Coran and Matt.

He turns his attention back to Keith when Keith shakes his head no. Lance notices him whispering the words  _ please no  _ over and over.

Slav stands up and makes his way over to Allura and they start talking with each other. Something must be wrong.

“SLYTHERIN!” The Sorting Hat finally exclaims.

The Slytherin table claps, but not as loudly as they did for other first years. Keith walks over to them with a worried/upset expression on his face. He clearly didn't want to be sorted into Slytherin.

Lance looks over to the Hufflepuff table to find Hunk. Once he makes eye contact with Hunk, Lance gestures over to Keith. Hunk looks over at Keith then back at Lance and nods.

Once the kids are released to go to their dorms and unpack, Lance and Hunk find their way over to Keith. “Hey! You're Keith right?” Lance asks politely with a smile.

Keith's eyes widen slightly and he steps back. “Um, yes? Why do you need to know? I haven't done anything.”

“What? We just wanted to say hi!” Hunk exclaims with a wide smile.

Lance notices, out of the corner of his eye, Carlos and a few of his friends walking over. They stop right in front of the three first years. “Is this Slytherin kid bugging you two?” Carlos wonders.

“What? No we-” Lance starts.

“I think he is!” Jimmy, one of Carlos's friends, exclaims. “It's pathetic really. He has to find joy in making others feel bad just so he can make himself feel better.”

“Yeah what a waste on Professor Shirogane’s part. Why would he want to adopt some disgrace like this?” Charlie, Carlos's other friend, wonders. “He's just making the new headmaster look bad. I mean Shiro was in Gryffindor! He disgraced Shiro’s good name!”

Keith looks at the ground and clenches his fists. “Stop it.”

“Oh! Now you're threatening us?” Carlos asks baffled. “I ought to report you, you filthy Sl-”

“Stop it!” Lance exclaims. “Leave him alone! Hunk and I just wanted to say hello!”

“Well then, you better say goodbye. You don't want to associate yourself with someone like him,” Jimmy states. “Especially since he's already enough of a disgrace to his own house.”

“Yeah! You filthy mudblood!” Charlie exclaims. The three seventh years laugh and walk away.

Lance turns back to Keith. “Keith, I'm sorry about my brother. He-”

“Don't bother. I don't need your pity,” Keith interrupts. “I know when to walk away. It's something I've learned because I'm never wanted.”

A tear rolls down Keith's cheek and he quickly wipes it away before running off.

Lance turns to Hunk. “I didn't want to be mean to him. Why would Carlos say something like that?”

Hunk shrugs. “I don't-” He stops talking abruptly and his eyes widen. “Uh, do you know who that is? He's glaring at us.”

Lance turns and looks to where Hunk is staring. He notices one of the professors glaring at them. Who was this guy? Lance remembers his siblings talk about a strange professor, but what did he teach? Potions? No, that’s Professor Slater. Defense Against the Dark Arts? Yes! Professor Orson!

“I think that's Haxus Orson. Hannah and Lucy said that guy’s a creep,” Lance concludes. “He teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

Hunk nods. “Makes sense. Okay, well, I better go get unpacked. I'll see you tomorrow when classes start! I hope we have some together!”

Lance smiles. “Me too! Oh and don't forget about Pidge!”

Hunk chuckles. “I don't think I could even if I tried! We’ll look for her tomorrow to compare schedules. See you tomorrow!” Hunk waves then hurries off towards the Hufflepuff common room, issue with Keith already forgotten…for now…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	5. First Day of Classes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally classes begin and Lance couldn't be more excited...for about ten minutes before it is ruined by a classmate and a professor.

Lance waves goodbye to Pidge and Hunk as he makes his way over to Allura’s classroom for Transfiguration. He was a little disappointed when he discovered he didn’t have all his classes with Hunk and Pidge. The schedules work differently than Lance expected. Two houses have a class together while the other two have a different one (this goes for all the grades). After Transfiguration, Lance has Potions with Hunk followed by a break or “free period” where he’ll be able to hang with Hunk and Pidge before they have to go to their next class. Herbology follows after the break (Lance also has this class with Hunk) then, right before lunch, flying lessons with Allura are for all the first years. After lunch Lance has Charms, Astronomy (with Pidge), History of Magic (also with Pidge), and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Finally, after his last class, dinner rolls around and, by sheer luck, another break before he has to go to bed. When Lance’s siblings asked to see his schedule, they were all jealous to see that the first years got the break before bedtime this year. Needless to say, Lance plans to rub this in his siblings’ faces all year (especially Marco because he’s mean).

The classroom door opens, directing Lance’s attention to the back of the room. He watches as Allura swiftly makes her way to the front of the room, her long white hair billowing out behind her. Once at the front, she turns and smiles at everyone and says, Okay class! My name is Professor Allura Quinn and today we will be turning a match into a needle. Does anyone know the most important thing when it comes to transfiguration?” She raises her eyebrows, waiting for someone to react.

Lance looks around the classroom to see if anyone is raising their hand. When he sees that no one is, he raises his hand. Allura nods at him. “Maybe it's being focused?” Lance answers unsurely.

“Yes, a great amount of focus is needed, but that is not what I am looking for,” Allura says. She turns to the other side of the room. “Yes Keith?”

“No extra wand movements,” Keith answers dully.

Allura smiles at him. “Precisely! Ten points to Slytherin.”

Lance's jaw drops down. Did Keith  _ fricken _ Kogane just one-up him!? Was this payback for what Carlos did!? That didn't seem fair! Lance glares in Keith's direction, but the Slytherin boy only keeps his eyes down on his book.  _ What a jerk _ , Lance thinks to himself.

“Now everyone get your wands out and open to page five,” Allura instructs.

Pages of worn out textbooks crinkle as the students open them. Once quiet, Allura places a match in front of herself on the desk. “Now, most of you will not be able to do this on your first try. It will take some practice, but soon you all will be able to do it like pros!”

Allura smiles happily then directs her attention to the match in front of her. She focuses in on it and a couple seconds later, the match slowly begins to turn silver and becomes a needle.

The students murmur to each other in excitement. Lance exchanges a smile with the Gryffindor boy, Paul, sitting next to him before turning back to Allura. “Professor Quinn?”

Allura pauses before answering him. “You are Lance McClain, correct?” Lance nods. “I see. Your sister, Lucy, is very talented in Transfiguration so I have high hopes for you. Did you have a question?”

Lance nods again. “I was going to ask if you had any tips before we tried doing this ourselves.” He moves the match so it's closer to him on the table.

“Everyone has a different way they use to focus in order to perform a successful Transfiguration, so my advice to all of you would be to try out different things, and once you find something that works, stick to it.” Allura smiles at Lance then gestures for him to attempt the spell.

Lance lifts his wand up and zones in on the match. He tries to think about just turning this match into a needle, but all he can focus on is how Keith didn't even  _ try _ to answer the question. He just did it without putting forth any effort and that makes Lance beyond angry. What gives Keith the right to one-up Lance like that? He's a muggle-born! He shouldn't be this talented at magic! How could a stupid muggleborn be better than a pureblood!?

He turns his attention over to where Keith is sitting and glares at him. Keith doesn't notice Lance staring at him and continues to focus on the task at hand. The match in front of Keith begins to change colors, turning from a birch yellow to a silver.

This  _ CANNOT _ be happening. Lance’s jaw drops down as Keith successfully turns the match into a needle. Allura walks over to check his work and she claps for Keith, ruffling his hair. “Oh, good job Keith! Shiro would be so proud!” She smiles widely.

Lance turns back in his seat and crosses his arms angrily. Paul tilts his head in confusion at Lance. “You okay dude?”

“How can I be okay after a freakin’ muggleborn beat me out at turning this stupid match into a needle?!” Lance demands.

Paul chuckles. “Dude, it's the first day. Keith's the only one who actually managed to do it so you're not alone. Besides, he's a dumb Slytherin…he probably cheated.”

Lance sighs. “Yeah, you're probably right. Class is almost over anyway so I won't have to see his stupid face for a while.”

“See? Now that's the spirit!” Paul exclaims happily. “Come on, we've got Potions with Hufflepuff next, right? You won't even have to see Keith's stupid face.” Paul gathers his textbook and slips his wand back into his robe.

Lance follows Paul out of Allura’s classroom and he spots Hunk and Pidge by the large windows overlooking The Black Lake. “Hey, I'll meet you in the classroom, alright? I gotta go talk to a couple people.”

“Alright, catch ya later.” Paul gives Lance a mock salute then walks away.

Lance goes over to Hunk and Pidge. “Hey guys! How was Defense Against the Dark Arts?”

Hunk smiles when he sees Lance. “Hey Lance!”

“It was…interesting,” Pidge comments. “Professor Orson kept trailing off and was murmuring to himself a lot. I almost stepped in and started teaching.”

Lance chuckles. “I would've paid to see that!”

“Yeah, I was just talking to Hunk about discussing it with Coran. I'm having tea with him later, do you wanna join us Lance? We all have a break at that time,” Pidge says.

“Oh, sure! Thanks for thinking of me.” Lance smiles and ruffles Pidge’s hair.

She flashes him a toothy smile. “Of course! I'll catch you guys then! Have fun in Potions! I have to get to Astronomy.”

“Say hi to Matt for us!” Hunk exclaims after Pidge.

“DON’T LET STUPID KEITH ONE-UP YOU!” Lance shouts after her.

She holds up her thumb and rounds the corner, disappearing out of Lance’s and Hunk’s sight.

“Lance, don't be mean to Keith. He didn't do anything to you,” Hunk says gently as they head to Potions.

“He did too! You didn't see him, Hunk. After I answered one of Professor Quinn’s questions, he had to raise his hand and one-upped me!” Lance complains.

Hunk chuckles. “Maybe he was just, you know, answering the question?”

Lance shakes his head no. “He's got it out for me. I blame Carlos for this.”

“Don't let your brother’s stupid antics establish how you interact with Keith. He's been through a lot too.” Hunk looks at the ground.

Lance scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, well he didn't watch his mother die. Wasn't Keith just a baby when it happened? Yeah, so who cares?”

Hunk gasps. “Lance! That's not nice!”

They walk in the classroom Potions lessons take place down in one of the dungeons. It’s colder here than up in the main castle, and would’ve been quite creepy enough with the various ingredients floating in glass jars all around the walls of the front of the classroom where the professor’s desk is. Seriously, what the heck is even in some of these jars? Dead body parts? Yuck! Lance squints at one of the nearby ones, trying to figure out what could possibly be inside.

“Sorry, but it's the truth!” Lance defends after giving up on the weird brown substance he was looking at before. He and Hunk sit at one of the tables that have open cauldrons on it. One table sits four students because four cauldrons are placed on one table.

Hunk goes to reply, but the professor storms in, slamming the door after he enters. The loud  _ BANG _ of the door slamming shut startles a few students, causing them to jump in their seats. Unlike Allura, this man does NOT have a kind demeanor to him. Lance immediately feels terrified to be in this man’s presence.

The professor slams his book down on his desk and glares at everyone. “I am Professor Thace Slater, your Potions instructor. Open up your textbooks to page five then I will begin roll call.”

Thace begins listing off student’s names. He passes Hunk’s name, but once he reaches Lance’s name, he pauses. “Ah, yes…Lance McClain. Our newest member in the line of infuriatingly hopeless wizards.”

Lance’s jaw drops at Thace’s comment, but he doesn't say anything about it. Once finished, he looks back up at the class and a scowl forms on his already furious-looking face. His eyes seem to be a dark brown, almost black color that pierces right through, straight to one’s soul. They look cold and empty, like dark, scary tunnels.

Thace clears his throat before speaking. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making.” He speaks barely above a whisper, but the entire class still catches every word. Like Allura, Thace has the ability of keeping a class silent without putting forth any effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you all to truly understand the beauty of the art of Potion making: the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, and the delicate power of liquids creeping through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stop death. Well, that is if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence follows the little speech. No one dares speak now. Thace already has established that he means business. He won't tolerate any of Lance’s jokes.

"McClain!" Thace shouts suddenly, snapping Lance back to reality. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Lance tilts his head in confusion. “Uh, what? I don't-”

“Hmm, just as I thought. You're as hopeless as your siblings.” Thace opens the book on his desk. “And to think, your mother was an excellent potion maker. It's too bad you don't have that ability.”

Lance clenches his fists, fighting back tears. What gives this guy to treat him like this!? Lance didn't even do anything and Thace already hates him!

Hunk pats Lance on the back and offers him an apologetic smile. He turns his attention back to Thace, but Lance continues to stare at his textbook, not really interested in learning about Potions anymore.

His mom had been a Potions prodigy, but Lance never thought about how difficult it actually was. He flips through the pages in the textbook and the potions slowly get more and more complicated. Lance knew this class was gonna be hell. Hopefully Pidge and Hunk could help him out so he doesn't flunk.

Luckily the class goes by quickly so Lance doesn't have to be tortured by Thace anymore. Once out of the classroom, Lance groans loudly. “That class was utter HELL!”

“I mean it wasn't that bad, but it sucked that Professor Slater kept calling you out on things. He seems to really hate you,” Hunk states bluntly.

Lance gives Hunk an unamused expression. “Thanks for those reassuring words,” Lance replies dully.

Hunk chuckles and shoves Lance to the side gently. “Come on, lighten up dude. We’re gonna see Coran and Pidge!”

Lance sighs dramatically as they arrive at Coran’s office inside the castle next door to the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room and the kitchens. “Fine, but one mean comment about it and I’m outta there.”

Hunk rolls his eyes then knocks on the door. A few seconds later the door opens and Pidge appears. “Hey guys!” She opens up the door all the way for them and Lance and Hunk walk inside Coran’s office. “Coran’s here, but he’s making the tea right now.”

Lance looks around at Coran’s office, admiring the decorations he has on display. Two bookshelves stand against the wall on both sides of the room. A table resides at the center of the room with four comfy-looking chairs around it. Smaller tables next to the bookshelves are covered with little potted plants and framed pictures of Coran and his family. A couple are of him and some old students of his. He even has one taken with Shiro, Allura, and Matt back when they attended Hogwarts. On the walls, Coran has some newspaper clippings of the times he was mentioned for discovering a new plant or highest amount of students with high marks. He sees one about the old headmaster of Hogwarts retiring and Shiro taking his place.

Lance starts reading the clipping, but Pidge snaps her fingers, startling him. “You with us? The tea is ready.”

Lance nods. “Yeah! Sorry, I was just looking around.”

Coran chuckles. “Not to worry! There’s plenty to look at in here! I’m surprised I haven’t lost anything!”

Hunk chuckles. “I think you have more plants than books in here.”

“That’s true! I love to collect various plants! Animal collecting is more of Slav’s thing since he is the Care of Magical Creatures teacher,” Coran shares.

“When’re we able to take his classes? I want to scare him some more.” Pidge smirks evilly before sipping her tea.

Coran chuckles. “You will be able to when you all are third years. Now, I believe there is something you wanted to discuss with me?”

Pidge nods then sets her teacup down. “Yeah…I had a couple of questions about the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Does he always talk and murmur to himself?”

Coran tilts his head slightly in confusion. “What do you mean? I’ve never seen him do that.” He takes a sip of his tea.

Pidge turns to Hunk. “Ask Hunk! He saw it too!”

Hunk nods in agreement. “Whenever someone asked about the Galra Phantoms. He would start to scold them, but then trail off and murmur to himself. It kind of sounded like he was apologizing to someone.”

Coran sets his teacup down and strokes his mustache, thinking. “That is odd. I'll be honest with you kids, Haxus was hired this year just as Shiro was elected Headmaster and Slav has some theories about why that's the case.”

Pidge leans in closer. “We’re listening.”

“I can't give you many details because it's not my place to tell. You can talk to Slav more about it, but what I can tell you is that Haxus used to be a Galra Phantom along with Thace,” Coran explains.

Lance exchanges a knowing expression with Hunk before turning back to Coran. “Is that why Thace hates me? I mean he kept calling me out in class and pretty much made me look like a fool, and now that I know he used to work for You-Know-Who…it makes so much more sense! You-Know-Who killed my mother for cryin’ out loud!”

Coran shakes his head no. “That was a long time ago, Lance. Thace is a changed man so I don't think his distaste towards you has anything to do with that. He just doesn't have a good record with your siblings and, not to mention, your father when he attended Hogwarts.”

“Wait, you're saying my parents went to school here while Thace did!?” Lance asks in disbelief.

Coran nods. “I taught them myself!”

Lance furrows his eyebrows then looks at Coran. “What did my parents do to him?”

Coran chuckles. “Let's just say he had a thing for your mother, but she showed no interest in him because he showed too much of an interest in the Dark Arts.”

“Not surprised.” Pidge leans back in her chair. “Matt’s always saying how creepy and mean he is. Thace  _ ALWAYS _ finds something wrong with how Matt does things and complains to Shiro about it, but Shiro doesn't care most of the time.”

“Anyway, Shiro wanted me to ask you four to keep an eye on Keith. He's worried about him not making any friends because of what happened to him. Will you three promise to be nice to him?” Coran asks.

“Shiro is trying to bribe us to be Keith's friends?” Pidge asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Don't say it like that!” Hunk exclaims. “Keith isn't that bad…he's just misunderstood.”

Lance rolls his eyes. “He's a jerk.”

Hunk glares at Lance. “No he isn't. Carlos was the jerk to Keith.”

“Who?” Pidge asks.

“Carlos McClain, my brother,” Lance explains. “He and his friends called Keith some mean things.”

“Like what?” Coran wonders.

“Uh, I think they used the term Mudblood,” Lance answers.

Coran’s eyes widen. “They used  _ WHAT?! _ I’m sorry, but I have to cut this tea party short.”

“Wait, are you going to get my brother in trouble?” Lance asks worriedly.

“I won’t mention your name, but I am going to tell Shiro people have been using those slurs against Keith. I won’t stand for it. Keith is a sweet lad. He’s just a little scary on the outside.” Coran stands up. “It was lovely to see you all. I hope we can do this again.” He begins clearing away the teacups.

“Yeah! Thanks Coran!” Pidge exclaims as she, Hunk, and Lance walk out of Coran’s office.

They walk a ways away before Hunk stops them to say something. “Look, Lance, I know you don’t like Keith for some reason, but you can’t be mean to him, okay? It’s not cool and, besides, he’s got enough people harping on him about a lot of different things.”

Lance crosses his arms. “Hunk-”

“Please, Lance, I’m begging you. Do it for me. I have next class with him and I’m going to try to get on his good side. You should too.” Hunk gives Lance a small smile.

Lance huffs and uncrosses his arms. “Fine, but if  _ he _ starts anything, I’m gonna take him down!”

Hunk sighs and turns to Pidge.

She puts her hands up in mock surrender then says, “Hey, that’s better than nothing. At least Lance is somewhat compromising.”

“That’s true,” Hunk agrees. “Well, I’ll see you guys for flying class before lunch! I’m off to Astronomy!” He waves then walks away.

“Say hello to Matt for me!” Pidge calls after Hunk before turning to Lance. “Come on, we should head out to the greenhouse for Herbology. We don’t want to be late.”

Lance nods then follows Pidge. His stomach churns in excitement for what’s to come during flying class. He hopes to be one of the first of his grade to successfully board a broom first!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had TONS of fun with this chapter and Thace is my new favorite character design LOL
> 
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Flying Rivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura teaches all the first years how to fly on brooms. Lance is one of the first ones to call his broom up, but isn't the first to fly on it...needless to say, he isn't very happy about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is one of the last really short ones I'll be posting. All of the other ones are significantly longer. I have mixed feelings about this chapter...I don't feel it's one of my best, but it's important for the story to progress.

After Herbology ends, Pidge and Lance head over to where Allura is holding flying class outside of the castle. Pidge buzzes with excitement and chatters to Lance about the history of brooms.

He nods whenever she says something, but he really isn’t paying attention. All he can focus on is beating Keith. Lance knows he told Coran and Hunk he’d attempt to get along, but that doesn’t mean he still can’t try to stomp Keith into the ground, right? Right!

Anyway, all the first years gather in the central area and wait for Allura to give them instructions. Once she arrives, everyone quiets down. “Hello everyone! I am Professor Allura Quinn for those of you who have not had me in class yet. Today I am going to show all of you how to properly board a broom. We will not be flying the brooms around for a while so do not get too excited. We must get the basics down first.” She smiles then gestures to the broom next to her. “In order to get your broom to fly, you must say the word:  _ up _ . Does everyone understand? Good.” She directs her attention to the broomstick next to her feet again. “Up!”

The broomstick shoots up into her waiting hand. “Easy enough, right? Now it is your turn to try. I will walk around and give assistance to anyone who needs it,” Allura says as she sets her broom back on the ground.

Lance directs his attention to the broom next to his feet and sticks his arm out. “Up!” he exclaims.

Nothing happens.

“Up!” Lance tries again.

Still nothing.

Lance looks over at Hunk and Pidge and sees that they’re both struggling too. That makes him feel a little better.

Lance takes a deep breath and goes to say the command again, but an eruption of cheers and shouts interrupt him. He turns and sees Keith smiling widely with the broomstick in his hand. Fury and jealousy washes over Lance. Now he  _ HAS _ to get his broom up in the air.

A shout of agony from behind Lance startles him. He turns around and sees a Hufflepuff girl with her hand covering her nose. She has short black hair that falls just below her ears and dark brown skin.

“Shay!” Hunk exclaims as he hurries over to her. “What happened?”

“I t-tried calling the broom up, b-but it hit me in the face!” Shay exclaims.

Allura rushes over to examine her face. When Shay moves her hand away, Lance sees that her nose is bleeding. “Oh, it is just a nosebleed. We will take you to Slav to get it looked at, okay? Hunk, would you mind coming with?”

Hunk’s eyes widen slightly, but he nods, taking Shay’s hand and walking with her and Allura back into the castle. Lance turns back to look at Pidge and she only shrugs.

_ Oh well _ , Lance thinks to himself. He holds his arm out again. “Up!” he exclaims.

The broom shakes a little on the ground before soaring up into Lance’s waiting hand. His Gryffindor friends cheer around him and pat him on the back. Lance smiles at them then turns to look at Keith, smile slowly fading. Keith notices Lance looking in his direction and he starts to walk over. Lance furrows his eyebrows as Keith stops in front of him, broom in hand.

“Hi.” Keith bites his lip and looks at the broom in Lance’s hand. “We’re the first ones to get our brooms up.”

Lance narrows his eyes. “Oh, so now you’ll talk to me? Now that I’m finally matching up to your skill?”

Keith tilts his head in confusion. “What? No I-”

“Oh save it! I’m going to be the first one to fly on a broom!” Lance declares.

“But-” Keith starts.

Lance brushes past Keith then steps in the front of everyone. “Hey! Watch and learn everybody!” He puts one leg over the broom and hovers in the air for a few second before taking off. His robes billow behind him as he circles around all of the first years. “WOOHOO!” Lance chuckles. He passes by Pidge and she just smiles and rolls her eyes.

Finally, he flies back over to Keith and dismounts. Lance raises an eyebrow. “Jealous?”

Keith furrows his eyebrows and looks at the ground. “You weren’t supposed to do that. You’re gonna get in trouble when Professor Quinn gets back.”

Lance rolls his eyes. “No I’m not because she won’t catch me. And here’s another-”

“HEY GIVE THAT BACK!” Pidge yells suddenly.

Lance and Keith turn to see two Slytherin kids holding a small box above Pidge’s head. “Aww, what are you gonna do? Cry about it?” the boy snickers and tosses the box to the other kid, over Pidge’s head.

“No! Don’t do that! My brother made that for me!” Pidge pleads.

“You mean the lame Astronomy teacher?” the girl laughs. “He’s a loser.”

“Hey! Damien! Bethany! Leave her alone!” Keith exclaims.

Lance jumps slightly, never having heard Keith speak above a whisper before.

Damien turns and glares at Keith. “Oh, what do you want you filthy mudblood? Stay out of this!”

Keith marches up to Damien. “Don’t make me ask you again. Leave. Her. Alone.”

Damien turns to Bethany then back to Keith. “Nah, I’m good. You want the box back? GO GET IT!” He launches the box up into the sky and away from everyone.

“NO!” Pidge shrieks.

Keith moves like the wind. He hops onto his broom and flies in the direction of the box. Lance and the other students run to keep up with Keith, but he’s fast. The box gets closer and closer to the castle and heads straight for a window.

Lance winces, waiting for it to smash through the window, but Keith catches it in time. He smiles to himself before flying back down to Pidge. Keith gets off his broom and hands Pidge the box. “Here.”

Pidge takes the box from Keith and stares at it for a few seconds before hugging Keith tightly around the waist. “Thank you, Keith.”

He gives her a small smile. “No problem. I-”

“Keith Kogane!” Allura shouts.

The class turns around to see Allura, Shiro, and an older Slytherin boy making their way over to everyone. Lance smirks, knowing Keith’s going to get busted. Keith’s eyes widen in fear. “I can explain! I-”

Allura holds her hand up, silencing Keith. “You will do no such thing.” She turns to Shiro. “You may tell him.”

Shiro chuckles. “Allura, you don’t have to act so upset about this. I mean what’s the big deal? I did the same thing as a first year…you were there.”

Allura crosses her arms. “Yes and you got detention for it.”

Shiro rolls his eyes then turns back to Keith. “We saw what happened and we talked to Ryland here about you joining the Slytherin Quidditch team.”

Lance’s jaw drops down. How could they accept Keith after he disobeyed Allura’s instructions?! This wasn’t fair!

Ryland nods. “We need a new Seeker and I think you’re the guy we’ve been looking for. You in?”

“But I thought first years couldn’t even own a broom?” Keith wonders.

Shiro smiles proudly at Keith. “We’re making an exception for you. I think you should do it, Keith.”

“Okay!” Keith exclaims happily. “You’ve got yourself a new Seeker!”

Ryland chuckles and pats Keith on the back. “Right on! I’ll get you a practice schedule at dinner, alright? I’m excited for the season! The Quidditch Cup has Slytherin written all over it!”

Allura clears her throat and glares at Shiro. “Punishment?”

Shiro sighs. “Oh, right…you have detention in my office tonight for disobeying Allura’s instructions. I hope you’ve learned your lesson, Keith.”

Keith snickers. “Yeah, I have.”

Shiro ruffles Keith’s hair then turns to everyone. “Well, class is now over…time for lunch!”

Lance huffs angrily and drops his broom to the ground. He gives Keith a nasty glare before storming off to the Great Hall. He’d enact his revenge on Keith for making Lance look like a fool.

Keith won’t even know what hit him.

 

* * *

 

The afternoon classes go by quickly and Hunk, Lance, and Pidge make their way to the Great Hall for dinner. “I’m gonna challenge stupid Keith to a duel before we have to go to bed,” Lance states, determined.

“Lance, that’s not a good idea. Remember what Coran asked us to do? You’re planning to do the exact opposite!” Hunk exclaims.

“I don’t care anymore, Hunk. He crossed a line today! I was supposed to save Pidge!” Lance complains.

Pidge rolls her eyes. “Do whatever you want, Lance, but I don’t want any part of it.” She makes her way over to the Ravenclaw table.

Hunk pats Lance on the back then heads to the Hufflepuff table. Lance glances around and notices Keith making his way over to the Slytherin table. He smirks to himself then makes his way over to Keith, stepping in front of him so Keith can’t continue forward. He narrows his eyes at Lance. “What do you want Lance?”

Lance glares at Keith. “I’m challenging you to a duel. Meet me on the third floor after dinner and we’ll settle this rivalry once and for all.”

“Rivalry? What are you-”

“You in or not?!” Lance demands.

Keith glares at Lance. “Fine, but why wait? We could just go now.”

“Fine.” Lance glares at Keith before storming off towards the stairwells. He and Keith start racing up to the third floor, but the last staircase they end up on begins to move. “Oh no.”

“Lance! What the heck?!” Keith exclaims. “Now we’re gonna get lost!”

“Let me think! Do you ever shut up?!” Lance shouts at Keith. He yells angrily then walks down the dark hallway once the stairway finishes moving. A few candles on the wall provide a little light, but without the sun coming in from the windows, it’s still pretty dark out. Lance tries a few doors, but they all end up being locked. “Why are there so many locked doors?!”

“Oh come on, you’re not even trying!” Keith exclaims as he reaches for his wand out of his robes. He aims it at door of his own choosing. “Alohomora.”

The golden door knob unlocks and the door opens. “See?”

Lance glares at Keith because  _ of course HE would know that spell of all people _ then brushes past him to walk through the door. He looks around for a light source, but finds nothing. “Lumos.” The tip of Lance’s wand glows and he and Keith can see in the room now.

“This room looks empty. I wonder-” Keith stops talking abruptly and his eyes widen in fear. “Lance…we need to leave.”

“Why? You scared?” Lance taunts with a smirk.

Keith nods. “I’m terrified.” He points at the other side of the room.

Lance turns and sees a giant three-headed dog asleep on the ground. “Oh no. Okay, I agree…we need to - what are you doing?!”

He watches as Keith slowly makes his way towards the dog.

“Keith!” Lance hisses in a whisper. “You’re gonna get us killed!”

“It’s guarding something. Don’t you see the trap door underneath its middle head?” Keith asks, pointing down at the ground.

Lance looks closer and notices the lock on the ground. “Okay, I see it, but we really need to leave. We can continue this duel later. Come on!” He shoves Keith out of the door and Lance quickly shuts it. “Nox.” Lance’s wand dims and he turns to Keith. “What was that thing?”

Keith looks around. “I don’t know, but I think someone’s coming. We have to go back to the Great Hall.”

“But-” Lance starts.

Keith shakes his head no then heads for the stairwell again, leaving Lance behind. Lance furrows his eyebrows.  _ Does _ he hate Keith? Well, Keith never actually did anything to Lance, but he  _ was _ rude when he tried to talk to him after Carlos and his friends insulted Keith.

But it still didn't make any sense! Why would Keith hold it against Lance because of his stupid brother?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is beginning to think Keith isn't such a bad guy, but it'll take him until the next chapter to actually accept it :)
> 
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)  
> Thanks for reading!


	7. Bonding Over Trolls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween is here and that can only mean trouble...and food! Lance learns some new spells in Charms and learns that Keith is better than him at just about everything and Lance has had enough of it. Some mean words are said and a troll is found in the school...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this chapter but I guarantee the drawing of Red will make EVERYTHING better :)
> 
> Enjoy!

About two months have passed since the whole Keith-fiasco and Lance is still fuming about it. What gives Shiro the right to place him on the Slytherin Quidditch team?! Just because he’s the headmaster doesn’t make it fair! Just because he adopted Keith doesn't make it-

Oh… _ OH! _ Now Lance is pissed. Being the  _ son _ of the headmaster - is Keith even Shiro’s son? Keith never actually calls him “dad” so maybe he doesn’t view Shiro as a dad. Who even cares? Lance certainly doesn’t care. He couldn’t care less about Keith and how he gets away with whatever.

“I’m still pissed about the Quidditch thing. It’s not fair!” Lance exclaims loudly.

“Lance, it’s been two months and you’re still hung up on Keith being on Slytherin’s Quidditch team?” Lance’s friend, Delia, asks as they head over to Professor Holt’s classroom. They’ve got Charms with Pidge’s dad first thing after lunch. “You need to let it go.” Delia crosses her arms.

“He has every right to be upset!” Paul retorts. “I mean seriously! No first year has ever been allowed to play Quidditch! Not even Shiro himself!”

Lance nods at Paul then turns back to Delia. “You know we’re right.”

She groans and rolls her eyes. “Okay, fine, but I don’t want to hear anymore complaining! I, for one, don’t care!”

Paul scoffs. “I’ve known you since we were babies and your first word was  _ Chaser _ so don’t even try to tell me you’re not jealous because I know you are!”

Delia shoots him a glare. “Shut up, Paul! I am not jealous!”

“Denial is the first step in coping,” Paul says with a smirk.

Delia smacks his arm as they enter the classroom. The three Gryffindor kids laugh, but immediately stop when they see Keith looking at them. Lance makes sure to give him a nasty glare before sitting with Paul and Delia at a table. Keith frowns slightly and looks at the floor, slowly walking to take a seat in front of Lance and his friends. Paul scoffs and gestures to Keith like:  _ who does this chump think he is? _

Lance snickers at Paul, but directs his attention to Professor Holt when he walks into the room. Once the man gets to the front of the room, Lance gets a better look at his face. He sees a bit of Pidge and Matt, but more Matt. Professor Holt has glasses, like Matt, but his are thin rectangles versus Matt’s being round. He has greying hair, but a kind smile when he looks at the class. Lance sees where Pidge’s and Matt’s good first impressions come from.

“Hello class! I am Professor Samuel Holt,” Professor Holt introduces himself with a smile. “And before you ask, yes, my son is the Astronomy professor and my daughter is in Ravenclaw. I promised her I wouldn’t embarrass her so that’s all I’ll say about her, but Matthew didn’t tell me anything like she did so he’s fair game.”

The class laughs as Professor Holt pulls a feather out of his desk. “Today we’ll be learning how to make things levitate or  _ fly _ .” The class murmurs to each other, clearly excited to make something fly. Lance overhears a few kids wanting to make each other fly.  _ How would that even work? Why wouldn’t they just use a broom like a sane person? _

Professor Holt holds his hand up to silence everyone. “Yes, very exciting stuff today! But I will warn you that it’s pretty difficult. It took Matthew many, many tries to get this charm down. I think he even cried a few times.”

The class laughs again. Lance turns to Delia and Paul with a wide smile on his face. “Professor Holt is awesome! I can’t wait to tell Pidge he spent all class period picking on Matt.”

Paul laughs again. “She’s never gonna let him live it down.”

Professor Holt claps his hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Now watch me use the charm on this feather.” He pulls out his wand and clears his throat. “Wingardium Leviosa.”

A spark comes from his wand and the feather begins to float in front of him. The class gasps and points at the floating feather, whispering to each other. Professor Holt smiles at everyone. “Cool right? Well, now it’s your turn to try. I want you to partner up with someone next to you - Lance, would you mind moving up a seat to work with Keith? Thank you - now you all may begin!”

He couldn’t be serious. Lance does NOT want to work with Keith on this assignment! He wants to beat him to making it fly!

Oh well, whatever.

Lance gets up out of his seat and plops down next to Keith. “I don’t like this any more than you do,” Lance says bitterly.

Keith sighs. “Can we just get this over with?”

Lance rolls his eyes. “Fine. I’ll go first.”

He lifts up his wand and goes to say the spell, but Professor Holt interrupts saying, “Remember the wrist technique we’ve been practicing: swish and flick!”

Lance glances over at Paul and Delia and notices them struggling. “Wingardium Leviosa!” Paul exclaims with a flick of his wand, but the feather remains unmoving.

“Oh let me try!” Delia exclaims. “Wingardium Leviosa!” Still nothing.

“Ugh! This is stupid!” Paul waves his wand, accidentally sending a spark onto his feather, igniting it in flames.

Delia shrieks and slams a book down on it to extinguish the flames. To Lance’s surprise, the book doesn’t go up in flames too. He turns his attention back to his own feather and lifts his wand up. “Wingardium Leviosa!” Lance exclaims, flicking his wand.

“You’re saying it wrong!” Keith snaps. “It’s Wing-GAR-dium, make the  _ gar _ nice and long, and it’s Levi-O-sa not Levi-o-SA, put emphasis on the  _ o _ not the  _ sa _ .”

Lance frowns and glares at Keith. “You do it then, if you’re so clever!” he snarls at Keith, absolutely done with Keith’s attitude.

Keith raises an eyebrow at Lance, rolling up the sleeves to his robes then raises his wand. “Wingardium Leviosa!” Keith exclaims with a quick flick of his wand.

The feather flies into the air, five feet above their heads. Lance’s jaw drops down as Professor Holt hurries over to them.

“Well done Keith! Everyone look over here! This is an excellent example!” he exclaims.

Keith smiles widely at Professor Holt then turns to Lance, still smiling, but it fades away when Lance glowers at him.

“Way to go, show off,” Paul comments quietly behind them, glaring at Keith.

Professor Holt claps his hands together. “Well, that’s it for class today. Continue practicing your wand movements! We’ll be trying this charm again tomorrow! Have a wonderful rest of your day!”

Lance gathers his things and joins Paul and Delia at the door. “So how was working with Keith?” Delia asks.

Lance rolls his eyes. “He’s the worst!  _ It's Levi-OOOOH-sa not LevioSA _ ,” Lance says in a deeper voice, mocking Keith’s. “Seriously! He's a nightmare! No wonder he doesn’t have any friends!”

Keith pushes through Lance and his friends, causing Lance to stumble slightly. He goes to yell at Keith, but he notices tears streaming down Keith’s cheeks. Lance’s eyes widen and he turns to Delia and Paul.

“Um…I think he heard you,” Delia states. “I-” She stops talking when Pidge and Hunk rush over to Lance.

“Why is Keith in tears? What did you do to him?!” Hunk demands. “He was just warming up to me!”

Lance crosses his arms. “He’s just being a crybaby!”

Delia rolls her eyes. “Lance made a comment about Keith and he overheard. Keith may annoy you, but you shouldn’t be rude to him.”

“Oh come on! I thought it was funny!” Paul exclaims, trying to defend Lance.

“Okay, I’m taking Lance to Astronomy now. Hunk, you try to diffuse the situation with Keith,” Pidge orders, grabbing Lance’s arm.

“How am I supposed to do that?!” Hunk asks.

“Work your Hunk magic on him!” Pidge exclaims, taking off with Lance in tow.

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!” Hunk yells after Pidge.

Lance simply offers a salute to Hunk as Pidge drags him away. “I don’t see the issue here.”

Pidge rolls her eyes. “Seriously? Maybe Matt can smash some sense into you. Good thing he’s giving us study time today.”

“Wait what?!” Lance asks.

Pidge ignores him as she drags Lance into Matt’s classroom and over to his desk. Luckily Matt’s classroom is only two doors down from Professor Holt’s because Lance did NOT want to have his armed yanked out by Pidge for not moving fast enough. She’s surprisingly very strong for a little nine year old. “Matt, I need help.”

“Aww! My baby sister needs her big brother!” Matt coos and pulls Pidge in for a tight hug.

“NO!” Pidge shrieks. “LET ME GO!”

Matt chuckles, but releases her. “Alright, what can I do for you two?”

Pidge and Lance each pull up a chair and sit down across from Matt. “Lance doesn’t think he’s being mean to Keith, but he totally is.”

Matt furrows his eyebrows. “Shiro hasn’t told me anything so that must mean Keith probably hasn’t complained to Shiro.”

“Yeah! Why would he? I haven’t done anything!” Lance exclaims.

Pidge looks at Lance incredulously. “Are you serious?! You made him cry!”

Lance rolls his eyes. “A lot of people probably make him cry, Pidgey, it’s no big deal.”

Pidge gasps then smacks Lance’s arm. “You’re cruel!” She stands up angrily. “If this is how you treat people, well, then I don’t want to be your friend anymore!”

Lance’s eyes widen slightly. “What…Pidge you can’t be serious! You mocked him on the first day!”

“Oh really? How?” Pidge crosses her arms.

“Uh, you said ‘someone like him belongs in Slytherin’ then pointed at Keith!” Lance exclaims.

Her arms drop to her sides. “You knew that was Keith and you didn’t say anything?”

Matt clears his throat. “Um, if I may, it sounds like you should talk this out with him. Hunk seems to be the only one making an effort to be his friend.”

Lance rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair. “That’s how Hunk is. He’s nice to everyone.”

“Well, maybe you two should take a page or two out of his book.” Matt crosses his arms. “Pidge, I can see that you’re trying to make amends, but it’s clearly not enough. Not one first year in Keith’s house talks to him and that sucks. It’s a good thing Shiro put Keith on the Slytherin Quidditch team because, honestly, those are the only friends he has.”

“Matt we-” Lance starts.

“No. I’m not finished,” Matt interrupts. “Do you know why Shiro took Keith in? I think everyone knows. His parents were murdered by You-Know-Who, but do you know the whole story?” Pidge and Lance shake their heads no. “They never found his parents’ bodies. The Ministry can’t figure out how Keith survived, but he did and it’s a bloody miracle.” Matt sighs. “My point is to just give him a chance. Shiro has been pestering the staff and asking how Keith is doing. Coran and I are the only two teachers who ever have something positive to say. Can you guess why that is?”

Pidge and Lance exchange a solemn, but knowing expression. “Hunk,” they say together, turning back to Matt.

He nods. “Exactly. Now, you two should go get to studying. I’m not going to make it easy for either of you just because you’re two of my favorite students,” Matt says with a wink.

Lance and Pidge smile at Matt then head back to their desks. Pidge immediately opens up her textbook and starts to read the chapter they’re being tested on, but Lance finds it hard to focus. Matt’s words stick in his head and makes him think about the choices he made these past two months when dealing with Keith. He still doesn’t understand why it was wrong, but can see how Shiro would be worried about Keith now.

Man, he really screwed up. Lance needs Hunk’s help to fix this. He’s the only one who can help him and Pidge now.

 

* * *

 

Lance walks out of his final class before dinner and meets up with Pidge and Hunk before they head into the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. One of the cool things about getting a new headmaster is that they’re allowed to change up some rules. For example, Shiro changed the rule that students have to sit with their house during holiday or special meals. So if someone wanted to sit with their friends from other houses, they could. Lance thinks this is pretty cool because he missed sitting with Hunk during meals like when they were little.

They pass by the teachers’ table and Matt and Coran wave to them. The three kids wave back then sit at the end of what would be the Ravenclaw table, but now has some Gryffindor and Hufflepuff kids sitting at it.

“Man, I am PUMPED for this feast!” Hunk exclaims happily. “I wonder what-”

The doors to the Great Hall burst open to reveal Haxus standing there, out of breath. Shiro stands up and walks over to the podium. “Haxus? What’s wrong?”

“TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS!” he yells. “JUST THOUGHT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW!”

Then he collapses on the ground, unconscious.

Shiro rubs his forehead then turns to the teachers. “Sam, Thace, will you two take care of Haxus and bring him to the infirmary?” Professor Holt and Thace nod and hurry over to get Haxus off of the floor. Shiro turns back to the students. “Alright! I’m going to have to put a rain check on this feast. Will the prefects from each house please take your houses back to the dorms, and will the teachers follow me to the dungeons?”

Everyone gets up after Shiro stops talking, a mass panic spreading throughout all the students.

“Aw! I was looking forward to the food!” Hunk complains, pouting.

Lance stands up on the bench he was sitting on and looks around for Keith, finally realizing he hasn’t seen the kid in a while. He turns to Hunk and Pidge. “Guys, I haven’t seen Keith since the incident.”

Hunk stands up, no longer pouting about the food. “Why didn’t you say anything before we found out there’s a TROLL IN THE CASTLE!?”

Lance winces. “I just forgot, okay?! Please help me fix this!”

Hunk sighs then turns to Pidge. “Come on, the teachers won’t notice us gone if we’re sneaky about it.”

Pidge smirks. “Oooo, Hunk’s got a wild side. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I’m doing this for Lance so he can apologize,” Hunk states firmly, “and so Keith doesn’t die too.”

Lance smiles at his two friends and they make their way through the mass mob of people trying to move their way around the Great Hall. They duck down whenever a prefect is in sight, but they eventually make it out of the Great Hall unnoticed. They head down one of the main halls and spot Thace following Haxus towards the third floor stairwell, past the boys’ bathroom. Hunk, Pidge, and Lance watch as the bathroom door slams shut and hear the shouts of an angry troll behind the closed door.

“Bloody hell! The troll is in the bathroom!” Hunk exclaims, rushing over to the door with Pidge and Lance.

They hear another voice in the bathroom shouting out spells. Lance furrows his eyebrows and recognizes the voice as Keith’s. “Guys! Keith’s in there with the troll!” Lance exclaims.

Pidge steps back from the door and points her wand at it. “Alohomora!” she exclaims, causing the door to fly open. “Get in there and help! I’ll stand guard at the door!”

Lance and Hunk nod, hurrying into the bathroom. The door slams shut behind them.

“Keith! Look out!” Lance shouts as the troll takes a swing at Keith with its club.

Keith narrowly dodges the blow, landing on the ground roughly on his knee. “What are you doing in here?!”

“Helping!” Lance shouts back.

The troll hears Lance and turns to them, frowning. Hunk screams and chucks a roll of toilet paper at the troll’s face.

“HUNK! WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THAT?!” Lance yells.

“I got its attention!”

“WE ALREADY HAD ITS-” Lance screams as the troll grabs his leg and lifts him up. Lance screams when his entire world flips upside down (literally) and his wand falls out his hand onto the ground.

“NO!” Lance shrieks, eyes widening in fear. His heart lurches in his chest as the troll’s feet move to step on his wand. Just before the foot touches the ground, Keith, out of nowhere, dives for the wand and rolls out of the way of the troll’s foot, saving Lance’s wand.

“Lance! Keep distracting it! I’ve got an idea!” Keith shouts up at him.

“HURRY!” Lance screams. He turns back to the troll and starts kicking its arm, despite being held upside down. “TAKE THAT YOU BIG BULLY!”

The troll yells in frustration and throws Lance behind him, but Lance manages to grab hold of the troll’s hair and stay on its back. “KEITH, WHATEVER YOU’RE PLANNING I SUGGEST YOU DO IT NOW!”

“Just shut up and trust me!” Keith exclaims. He looks from the club in the troll’s hand to Lance then back to the club. Keith turns to Hunk. “We need to get him to drop his club!”

“How are we gonna do that?!” Hunk asks. “We’re gonna die! What if I start crying?! Too late! I’m already crying!”

“HUNK! Get a grip!” Keith yells. He shoves Lance’s wand into Hunk’s hand then aims his own at the troll’s hand. “EXPELLIARMUS!” A blast of red comes out of Keith’s wand and makes contact with the troll’s hand.

It yells in pain as its club flies out of its hand. “Lance! Get ready to catch!”

“Wait what?!” Lance turns and sees Keith about to chuck the troll’s club at him. “AHH OKAY!”

Keith grunts as he swings the heavy club back before launching it up to Lance. “Wingardium Leviosa!” Keith exclaims, pointing his wand at the club so it doesn’t knock Lance off of the troll.

Lance takes the club and smashes it over the troll’s head, causing it to wobble. “Oh no-AHHHHHHHHHHH!” Lance screams as the troll collapses onto the ground. Keith manages to catch and support Lance before he hits the ground after flying off of the troll. They exchange shocked expressions before stepping away from each other.

“Bloody hell! We-” Hunk starts, but Allura and Shiro burst into the bathroom, furious. Pidge follows behind, head hanging, but she perks up when she sees the defeated troll.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Shiro demands.

“Shiro we-” Keith cringes and nearly falls to the ground after taking a step. Lance grabs his arm before Keith falls to the ground. Keith grimaces and clutches his knee, clearly in pain. 

Allura furrows her eyebrows. “Shiro gave specific orders to go to your dorms and you disobeyed! What do you have to say for yourselves!?”

Shiro crosses his arms and nods. “I’m very disappointed in you four.”

“But we defeated the troll!” Lance exclaims. “Does that mean anything to you?!”

“You could have been killed!” Allura yells.

“But we weren’t!” Lance retorts. “Come on! This isn’t fair!”

“You’re right,” Keith speaks up from next to Lance. “It isn’t fair, not to Hunk, Pidge, and Lance. I went to fight the troll on my own…they were trying to save me. Please don’t punish them, just punish me.”

Allura turns to Shiro then back to the kids. “Five points…” She pauses, looking at Lance, Hunk, and Pidge in the eye. “…will be awarded to each of you.” She smiles as Pidge, Lance, and Hunk cheer and smile at each other. “For sheer dumb luck!”

Shiro chuckles. “Oh come on Allura, you don’t mean that.”

“Shiro, I am certain they did not know what they were doing.” Allura crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow at him. “Are you going to quarrel with me about this?”

Shiro raises his hands in mock surrender. “Nope! You’re right…as usual.” He winks at her, causing her to chuckle and roll her eyes. Shiro smiles at her before turning to Keith. “We should get Slav to look at that knee of yours.”

Keith turns to Shiro. “Can…can you give us a second? Please?”

Shiro and Allura exchange a knowing expression before walking towards the door. “Sure, we’ll be right out here.”

Once the two adults are gone, Keith turns to Pidge, Lance, and Hunk. “Thanks for helping. It, uh, means a lot.”

“Hey, it was all Lance’s idea. He’s the one who noticed you weren’t at the feast,” Hunk clarifies with a smile.

Lance offers Keith a small smile. “Sorry I’ve been a jerk to you these past two months. I just…I was jealous of how good and talented you are at magic and it overcame me, I’m sorry.”

Keith smiles back at Lance. “It’s okay. You kind of made up for it after this.”

Lance raises an eyebrow. “You mean saving your butt? Yeah, I guess I am your hero now. Now  _ you _ owe me!”

Keith’s jaw drops down. “What?! We worked together! We had a bonding moment!  _ I cradled you in my arms! _ ”

Lance smirks, shaking his head. “Nope! Don’t remember! Didn’t happen!” He chuckles at Keith’s offended expression. “We good?”

Keith bites his lip then nods. “Yeah, we’re good.”

Hunk laughs loudly then pulls Lance and Keith in for a hug. “Oh man! I love you guys. We’re like brothers now!”

Lance chuckles. “I guess fighting a troll brings people closer together.”

“I want in!” Pidge exclaims, squeezing her way into the middle of the hug.

Lance looks up and meets Keith’s gaze. They exchange a smile with each other, rivalry forgotten and behind them.

After a few more minutes, the four walk out of the bathroom to where Shiro and Allura are waiting. Lance helps Keith up to the infirmary while Shiro goes to find Slav. Once Shiro is gone, Lance turns to Keith. “Okay so before Hunk, Pidge, and I found you in the bathroom, we saw Thace following Haxus to the third floor where we found the room with that three-headed dog in it,” Lance reveals.

Keith raises his eyebrows. “Really? What do you think they were doing?”

Lance shrugs. “I don’t know, but I bet it has something to do with whatever that dog is guarding. We should talk more about it with Hunk and Pidge though.” He turns and sees Shiro coming back with Slav. “I should go, but I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Big Quidditch game against Ravenclaw, right?”

Keith smiles and nods. “Yeah! I’ll see you tomorrow…bye Lance.”

Lance waves to Keith as he walks out of the infirmary back to his dorm. On his way back, an orange and black striped cat brushes up against his leg. Lance kneels down and pets the cat. “Aww hello! Aren’t you a beautiful kitty?” He scratches behind the cat’s ears and finally feels a collar.

Lance turns it around until he reads:

 

_RED_

_OWNER: KEITH KOGANE_

_IF FOUND, PLEASE RETURN - SHE WANDERS OFF A LOT_

 

Red blinks her green eyes at him and tilts her head expectantly at him. She meows loudly and plops onto her back, exposing her white-furred belly. Lance chuckles to himself and pets her. “Keith doesn’t really know how to keep track of you, does he?” Red meows again and paws at his hand gently. Lance giggles and scoops up Red in his arms, carrying her like a baby. She purrs and nuzzles against his face. “Pretty girl.” He smiles at Red and walks back into the infirmary. “Did someone lose a feline friend?”

Shiro turns and chuckles when he sees Lance. “Wow, I didn’t think that cat could show affection to anyone except Keith!”

“What are you - oh Red got out again?!” Keith exclaims, exasperated.

Once she hears Keith’s voice, Red jumps out of Lance’s arms and onto Keith’s bed. She meows loudly and plops down on her butt, almost giving Keith the stink eye. Keith furrows his eyebrows. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Red turns her attention to the bandage on Keith’s knee and taps her paw on it. Lance bursts out laughing. “That’s hilarious! It’s like she knew you were hurt so she went to go look for you!”

Shiro chuckles. “Red’s a smart cat. Thanks for bringing her over here, Lance, but it’s past curfew for you. Come on, I’ll walk you to the Gryffindor common room.” Shiro guides Lance out of the infirmary.

Red meows at them when they walk out as if to say goodbye before crawling up into a ball on Keith’s lap. Keith rolls his eyes, but starts stroking Red’s fur, a small smile forming on his face. Lance smiles to himself, proud that he made things right with Keith. He can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ISN'T SHE THE CUTEST? <3 I love Red so much. Also Lance and Keith are finally friends! It's only uphill from here! (Well...sort of) >:)
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)


	8. Snitches and Sleuths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's first Quidditch game against Ravenclaw! With Matt Holt as the announcer, one can only hope he doesn't get in too much trouble. More and more is discovered about Thace and what he has against Lance and his friends. They even discover him talking with Slav about a certain three-headed dog...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I described the Quidditch game well enough to understand! Drinking game: take a shot every time Keith is in one of the drawings...
> 
> Lol you'd get immediate alcohol poisoning.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

Lance waves his wand at the quill sitting on Keith’s textbook and mutters, “Wingardium Leviosa.” The quill floats up in the air and knocks into Keith’s forehead.

He looks up and glares at Lance, snatching the quill out of the air. “Can you not?! I’m trying to read!”

Lance snickers and leans against Keith’s legs, the back of his head resting on Keith’s knees. A short gust of wind blows in the air causing the leaves in the trees to rustle and the pages of Keith’s book to crinkle. Lance takes a deep breath in through his nose and sighs. Who knew Friday afternoons could be so relaxing? Usually Lance would be arguing with his siblings about what movie they would go see, but now he just feels free here to do whatever he wants…within reason of course because obviously Lance won’t break the rules.

Anyway, Keith and Lance are currently waiting for Pidge and Hunk to get out of Haxus’s classroom before heading over to Keith’s Quidditch practice. Ryland gave Keith permission to have Pidge, Lance, and Hunk watch their practice today before the game tomorrow against Ravenclaw.

Keith sighs and leans against the tree behind the bench he is sitting on. “I’m so nervous for tomorrow.”

Lance turns and raises an eyebrow at Keith. “Keith Kogane? Nervous? Never thought I’d hear those two words in the same sentence.”

Keith smirks. “Technically I didn’t say my own name.”

Lance elbows Keith playfully. “Oh shut up, you know what I mean,” Lance replies as he joins Keith on the bench in the courtyard. “You’ve got nothing to worry about! I’ll be your good luck charm.”

Keith smiles and looks at the ground. “What if we lose?”

Lance huffs and crosses his arms. “Impossible! I bring nothing but good luck! Shut up Keith!”

He laughs and closes his book. “I’m kidding, Lance. It means a lot to me that you, Hunk, and Pidge are coming to watch my practice today and the game tomorrow.”

“Coran is letting Hunk and I sit with the teachers since there won’t be a set section for our houses,” Lance shares. He takes the book Keith was reading out of his hands and looks at the title. “Where did you get this?”

“Pidge gave it to me.  _ Quidditch Through the Ages _ is actually pretty interesting. There’s a lot in there I didn’t know about Quidditch. For example a team could still lose even if the Snitch is caught,” Keith explains.

“What?! No way! But a Snitch is worth 150 points!” Lance exclaims.

Keith nods. “Right? It’s rare, but possible.”

“I can’t believe stupid Haxus won’t give me credit for that assignment!” Pidge complains from behind the tree. Lance and Keith turn around and find Hunk and Pidge walking over to them.

“What’s up Pidgey?” Lance asks as he puts his arm around her when she sits next to him.

“Apparently I used the wrong wand technique on an assignment so Haxus wouldn’t give me credit. When Hunk came with me to go change it, Haxus was talking to himself again. It was the creepiest thing!” Pidge exclaims, resting her head on Lance’s shoulder.

“Did he not change your - oh my god…” Keith trails off.

“What’s - OH KITTY!” Lance exclaims, hopping off the bench and over to Red. She hops into his arms and nuzzles against his face. “Hello beautiful! How are you?” He carries Red over to the others.

“Why does she keep getting out?” Keith sighs and rubs his forehead.

“Aww! Is this Red?” Hunk asks, walking over to Lance.

“Yeah, but she doesn’t really like - oh, never mind! Red, what the hell?” Keith asks as Hunk scratches Red behind the ears.

“Keith, you say your cat doesn’t like people, but she seems to like us just fine,” Pidge comments.

Keith huffs and rolls his eyes. “Shut up  _ Katherine _ .”

Pidge glares at Keith. “You’re the worst, Kogane.”

Keith smiles widely at Pidge. “Thank you very much, Holt.”

“Red has her priorities in order, Keith. Anyway, we should head to the field now if you wanna get there on time,” Lance says as he kisses Red’s head. She purrs loudly and licks his chin.

“She really likes Lance,” Hunk comments as Keith and Pidge stand up.

“Yeah, well, she’s a bloody traitor that’s what she is.” Keith glares at Red. “Don’t forget who found you on the street as a little abandoned kitten and nursed you back to health, missy.”

Lance gasps loudly and looks at Keith. “She was  _ abandoned _ ?! Who would abandon such a pretty kitty?!”

Red meows again and flicks her tail at Keith. He takes her out of Lance’s arms and Red immediately headbutts Keith. “Oh, that’s what I thought.” Keith rolls his eyes and sets her back on the ground. “Go back to Shiro’s office, alright? I’ll come get you after practice.”

She flicks her tail at Keith as if to say  _ “whatever” _ before walking back into the castle. Lance giggles and collects his books from the ground. “She’s got so much sass!”

“Don’t talk about it. Shiro says she got it from me, but I think she’s just messing around with me. Do you guys have any pets?” Keith asks as they finally head towards the Quidditch field.

“I have an owl named Rover!” Pidge exclaims, skipping ahead of the three boys. “I named him after our old dog.”

“I have two dogs back at home, but no pets right now,” Hunk shares. “My parents told me I could get one during our third year.”

Keith nods then turns to Lance. “What about you?”

“Uhh…I’ve got an owl,” Lance replies.

“What’s its name?”

Lance opens his mouth to reply, but all of the sudden Thace storms over to them. He crosses his arms and glares at them. “Where do you four think you’re going?”

“They’re coming to watch my Quidditch practice. Shiro said-” Keith starts.

“No, they’re not going to watch you practice. Mr. McClain and Mr. Garett here have to redo an assignment they did incorrectly, and Miss Holt is needed in Professor Shirogane’s office immediately,” Thace states. His gaze drops to the books in Keith’s arms. “What is that in your hand?”

Keith holds the books closer to his chest. “My books.”

Thace narrows his eyes and swipes the  _ Quidditch Through the Ages _ book from Keith. “Where did you get this? You shouldn’t have this.”

“Hey! Give that back!” Keith exclaims, reaching for the book.

“No. This is a warning for you, Mr. Kogane. Don’t be caught with something like this again,” Thace scolds Keith before turning to Lance and Hunk. “I expect to see you two in my classroom in thirty minutes. Do  _ not _ be late.” He glares at them before storming off.

Keith drops the rest of his books on the ground and clenches his fists. “What the hell does he have against you?! I always hear him complaining to Shiro about how rude and disruptive you are. At first I agreed with him, but now I know it’s not true at all!”

“Coran said it had something to do with my parents, but he wouldn’t really elaborate. Just meet me outside Coran’s classroom after your practice, alright? I have a plan to get your book back,” Lance says.

“Are we going to get in trouble?” Keith asks with a raised eyebrow.

Lance smirks. “You scared?”

Keith returns the smirk. “Not one bit.”

Pidge groans loudly. “Both of you shut it before I vomit! I’m gonna head to Shiro’s office now…Keith, don’t be late for practice!” She waves then hurries back into the castle.

“I’ll see you guys later,” Keith says as he starts to walk away.

“Bye Keith!” Lance waves to him and drags Hunk into the castle. “I’m happy we made things right with him. He’s actually really cool.”

Hunk nods. “I know right? I kind of forced him to talk to me during History of Magic and Astronomy. At first he wasn’t really into it, but, after a few days, he finally warmed up. He seemed kind of surprised I wouldn't back down…it was almost like he  _ expected _ me to just give up on him.”

Lance shrugs. “Well, I mean Shiro was the only other person who actually made an effort to care for him. His parents did abandon him after all.”

“I thought they were killed by You-Know-Who?” Hunk questions.

“That’s more of a theory. They never actually  _ found _ the bodies of his parents,” Lance explains.

Hunk stops in his tracks, mouth slightly agape in shock. “Who told you this?!”

Lance turns, a quizzical expression on his face. “Matt did? Did you not know that?”

Hunk shakes his head. “Dude! Do you know what this means?!”

“That there’s a conspiracy within the Ministry and we just discovered it?”

“NO! His parents could still be out there!” Hunk exclaims with a smile.

“Do you really believe that?” Lance asks, skeptically. “If someone told me that my mamá was still alive…I would think it’s a cruel joke.”

“I see your point,  _ but _ they found your mom’s body…she was confirmed dead.” Hunk pauses to let that sink in for Lance. “Do you see what I’m getting at?”

“Okay, yes I do, but what’re we gonna do if we find out his parents didn’t want him? He’ll be crushed!” Lance exclaims.

Hunk sighs and walks down the staircase to where Thace’s classroom is. “I’d want to know the truth.”

“Even if it was the worst possible thing?” Lance presses.

Hunk turns to him, standing in the middle of the doorway. “Yes, I would.”

Lance’s jaw drops and his brow furrows. How could Hunk want to know the truth if his parents abandoned him? Wouldn't it be too much to know? The two people who are suppose to love and care for their kid, abandons him or her and the kid wants to know why? Lance can’t wrap his head around it.

Oh well, it didn’t really matter that much. If Hunk wanted to pick at some of Keith’s old wounds then so be it. Lance wants nothing to do with the emotional pain that will come with it. He’ll be there to comfort Keith, but he definitely won’t being the one to cause it. Lance will never EVER make that boy cry again.

 

* * *

 

After two hours of utter hell brought to them by Thace himself, Lance and Hunk finally make their way over to Coran’s office. Thace made them redo the potion  _ seven _ times before he was satisfied with their work. Honestly, what’s that guy’s problem? They did the exact same thing they did the first time, but  _ clearly _ it wasn’t enough for snooty Thace’s taste. Lance certainly isn’t a perfectionist so he wouldn’t have been able to figure out that they needed honeywater instead of honey. Basically what happened was that Hunk had some sort of  _ revelation _ or whatever and figured out they needed to dilute the honey in water BEFORE adding it to the potion. Lance didn’t see the point, but Hunk’s suggestion made Thace  _ very _ happy.

Did Lance get any congratulation for putting out the fire Hunk almost started?

No.

Did Lance get unjustly blamed for causing the fire?

Yes.

Does Thace have a stick shoved so far up his butt that it affects his sight AND gives him impaired judgement when it comes to anything in general?

Oh totally, hands down.

Oh well, screw that guy.

Lance feels sorry for Keith because that douchenozzle is the head of his house. If Thace was the head of  _ Lance’s _ house…he’d probably throw himself out of the Ravenclaw Tower window.

Once he and Hunk get to Coran’s office, they see Keith running over to them. “Guys! You’ll NEVER guess what just happened at practice.”

“What happened?” Hunk wonders.

A huge smile breaks out on Keith’s face. “So since we finished all of the drills Ryland had planned for us early, he decided to have us race against each other…guess who won.”

Lance obviously knows Keith won based on his huge smile, but, instead of giving Keith what he wants, he decides to mess with him. “Was it that cute girl chaser? I think her name is Megan?”

“No!” Keith exclaims. “It-”

“Ryland?”

“No, Lance. It-”

“Bart?”

“I don’t even know who-”

“Tim? Phil? Nick? J-”

“ME!” Keith yells, interrupting Lance. “I won!”

Hunk laughs and claps. “That’s awesome Keith!”

“Yeah! Ryland said the other houses have no chance of getting the Snitch against me.” Keith smiles again. “He said we might even go undefeated!”

“I’m both happy and upset at the same time. My siblings aren’t going to be happy to hear that,” Lance chuckles.

“Are they all on Gryffindor’s team?” Keith asks.

“Carlos is the Keeper and captain, while Hannah and Lucy are the two Beaters,” Lance shares. “I - oh hey Lucy!” Lance spots his sister walking towards Coran’s office and waves to her.

A wide smile forms on her face and she runs over to Lance, engulfing him in a tight hug. “LANCE! Oh I haven’t seen you in forever!” She kisses his cheek. “How are you?”

“I’m great! Lucy, have you met Keith?” Lance asks, gesturing to Keith.

“Keith Kogane as in Takashi Shirogane’s Keith Kogane?” she asks, turning to Keith. Her jaw drops down. “OH MY GOD!”

Keith jumps slightly. “What?”

“You’re the  _ cutest _ !” Lucy squeals and stands in front of Keith. “Oh your eyes are so cool!” She bends down and stares at his eyes, leaving only centimeters of space between their faces.

“They’re a pretty indigo-violet color.” She stands up straight. “I’m adopting him into the family.”

“Whoa, what?! Lucy!” Lance exclaims.

Keith giggles. “Are you sure about that? Do you want a Slytherin in your family?”

Lucy scoffs. “Keith, sweetie, my dad was almost placed in Slytherin…we don’t care.”

“Carlos McClain does…” Keith whispers, gaze turning to the ground.

Lucy sighs and pulls Keith in for another hug. “Carlos can be a dick sometimes. He’s just weary of them because a couple of them started some mean rumors about me last year.” Lucy starts running her fingers through Keith’s hair, something she always does to Lance whenever he’s upset. “Wow you have soft hair.”

“Uh, thanks…why are you touching my hair?” Keith asks innocently.

Lucy releases Keith and steps back. “Sorry! It’s a force of habit. I do it to Lance whenever he’s upset.”

Lance smiles widely. “It’s calming.”

Lucy ruffles Hunk’s hair before turning back to Lance. “What are you three doing at Professor Kramer’s office?”

“We’re waiting for Pidge to…” Lance trails off when he sees Hunk shaking his head no.

“To what? I didn’t catch what you said,” Lucy says, trying to find out what Lance is keeping secret.

“To see what she had to meet with Shiro about, and because Coran wanted to see us,” Keith lies.

Lucy nods. “Ah. I see, well, I’ll get out of your guys’ hair. It was lovely meeting you, Keith. I hope to see more of you!” She smiles widely. “I’ll catch you guys later!”

She gives Lance one more hug before walking down the hall, leaving the three boys. Once she rounds the corner, Hunk lets out the breath he was holding in. “That was terrifying!” Hunk exclaims.

“Dude, Lucy would never tell on us!” Lance exclaims. “I’m her favorite! And she totally loves Keith so we’re basically immune!”

“Well, what if she were Hannah? Hannah definitely would’ve thrown us under the bus!” Hunk argues.

Lance rolls his eyes. “That’s because Hannah is the worst and hates everyone and everything.”

Keith grimaces. “She sounds lovely.”

Hunk turns to Keith. “Lance is kidding. Hannah is super nice…he just prefers Lucy because Lucy is nice to him.”

“Makes sense.”

Lance sticks his tongue out at Keith. “Jerk! I thought you were on  _ my _ side!”

“I am on your side…I’m standing right next to you.” Keith smiles at Lance.

Hunk bursts out laughing after a couple seconds. “OH MY GOD! KEITH JUST TOLD A JOKE!”

“What kind of joke? Was it a jab at Lance?” Pidge asks, suddenly behind them.

Hunk yelps, clearly startled. “Pidge! Don’t sneak up on us like that!”

“Didn’t you see me walking down the hall?!” Pidge demands.

“You’re a little short there, Pidgey. I almost didn’t see you right now.” Lance smirks at the angry Pidge.

“Watch yourself, McClain. I’ll have my brother take you out!” Pidge threatens.

“Matt ain’t a scary dude,” Lance counters, smirk widening. “Besides, I’ve got Keith on my team and guess what that means!”

“You’re dying your hair black?”

“NO!” Lance yells. “It means I’ve got  _ Shiro _ on my side!”

Pidge glares at Lance. “You cheating JERK!  _ I _ want Keith!”

“Too bad so sad! Keith chose his alliance and it’s with  _ me _ so HAH!” Lance exclaims, putting an arm around Keith.

“Then I get Hunk!” Pidge exclaims, grasping onto Hunk’s arm.

Lance rolls his eyes. “Yeah, whatever traitors. We don’t  _ need _ you!”

“Good because  _ I’m _ not getting busted for trying to steal that book from Thace,” Pidge states definitively. “I told you to keep it hidden from the teachers, but you didn’t listen to me.”

Keith rolls his eyes. “I wasn’t even by any teachers! Thace is the one who fricken sneaked up on us!”

“Keith, just drop it. We’ll get the book back from him, but we have to leave now before we have to go to bed, alright?” Lance gestures for Keith to follow him. Once he follows, Lance waves to Hunk and Pidge then leads Keith down the hallway.

They make their way back down to the dungeons where Thace’s classroom is. Why is it always so cold down here?! How do the students in Slytherin not freeze their butts off? Lance turns to Keith. “Dude, it’s fricken  _ freezing _ down here! How do you not freeze every night?” Lance asks.

“There’s heat in the common room, but I got used to it,” Keith explains.

Lance nods, but internally scoffs.  _ Probably because he’s cold blooded like a snake. _ Lance chuckles at his own joke.

Keith turns to him. “What are you laughing about?”

“You probably got used to the cold because you’re-”

“You told me that  _ creature _ was trained!” a voice yells from the hallway.

Lance and Keith round the corner of the hallway, but scramble back when they see Slav and Thace talking in front of Thace’s classroom.

“I have told everyone countless times that they cannot go while she is eating!” Slav exclaims. “There will always be a forty-”

“Enough with the stupid statistics! You better fix this before anyone else gets hurt!” Thace scolds Slav.

Lance peeks around the corner to get a better look at the two professors. Slav seems to be ready for bed, dressed in night robes, but Thace’s robes are tattered and slightly ripped. His arm also is covered in bandages, his face has scratch marks on it, and his hair is messy. Lance turns back to Keith and motions for him to look around the corner to see Thace and Slav.

After a few more seconds, Keith steps back and looks at Lance with wide eyes. “Lance, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Lance nods. “Yeah.”

“We have to tell Shiro then. If Thace was snooping around that three-headed dog then he’ll get in trouble,” Keith concludes.

Lance shakes his head no. “Dude,  _ we _ were snooping by the dog!”

“Shh!” Keith shushes Lance. He grabs his arm and drags him down the hallway, away from Thace and Slav. “Okay now you can yell all you want.”

Lance glares at Keith before continuing. “Okay, so, what I was getting at is if we rat out Thace, Shiro will wonder why  _ we _ were by the dog! Or even how we know about the dog in the first place!”

Keith groans. “You’re right…I didn’t think about that. What do we do then?”

“We lay low and wait to talk with Pidge and Hunk about it. Also, it seems like Thace didn’t get past the dog so that’s good, right?” Lance asks hopefully.

Keith shrugs. “I don’t know, but he won’t stop trying. We need to figure out what the dog is guarding.”

“How are we gonna do that?!” Lance asks incredulously.

Keith smirks, an evil twinkle to his eyes. “I have some ideas.”

“We aren’t torturing anyone!”

“THAT’S NOT-” Keith rubs his temples “-never mind. I’ll talk to you about it tomorrow sometime, alright? Ryland told us to get to bed early for the game. He wants us to be well-rested and ready to kick Ravenclaw’s butt.”

“Don’t let Matt hear you,” Lance teases. “Alrighty then! See you later, Keith!” Lance elbows Keith playfully before hurrying towards the Gryffindor common room.

Luckily he doesn’t run into any prefects because it’s about ten minutes past curfew and Lance does NOT want to deal with anyone chewing him out for being a tad bit late…especially not Carlos. Lance still needs to confront Carlos about the way he treated Keith on the first day, but he’s too tired to start a fight with his older brother. That was Lance’s and Marco’s thing…speaking of Marco:  _ where has he been? _

Lance walks up the stairs to the boys dorms and collapses onto his bed, exhausted and any worries about Marco completely forgotten.

 

* * *

 

“Hello everyone! Your favorite Quidditch commentator returns another year! Shiro has tried to get someone new, but alas the people love me. Takashi, how does it feel to come in second place to me?” Matt asks into the microphone, turning to Shiro.

“Matt-” Shiro starts.

“And there you have it folks! He’s  _ still _ upset about me being the more - OW!” Matt shouts in pain.

Lance looks over from his spot between Hunk and Coran to see Shiro and Matt wrestling for the microphone. Allura flies by on her broom and stops in front of the two men. “Boys, knock it off or I’ll have you both thrown out!” Allura scolds them.

Her long white hair is somehow pulled back into a bun on her head. Lance has no idea how she managed to do it, but she looks a million times more terrifying than before. Shiro and Matt seem to get the message and stop wrestling.

Matt clears his throat then raises the microphone back up. “Anyway, here comes the Ravenclaw team! Oh look at them! I see them as champions already!” The Ravenclaw fans erupt in cheers. Lance looks to see if he can spot Pidge, but realizes since she’s so short, he wouldn’t be able to anyway. Pidge told Hunk and Lance that she was going to sit with her house and cheer for them, but she’d be secretly rooting for Keith.

“Someone just hand them the-” Matt starts.

“Matthew!” Shiro yells, interrupting Matt.

“Sorry, got carried away there. Here comes the Slytherin team. This year they’ve got their first ever first year on the team as their new seeker. I had my doubts at first, but when I saw him practicing with his team…wow, can that boy fly. Keith Kogane is his name! Keith, if you’re listening to me right now, is there any chance you can hop on over to the Ravenclaw team? I really-”

“MATTHEW!”

“Gah! Okay! Tough crowd, am I right?” Matt snickers at his own joke.

Lance turns to Coran. “Coran, was Matt like this back when he went to Hogwarts?”

Coran chuckles. “Matthew Holt has not changed one bit. I’m fairly certain he mostly does this to irritate Shiro…and succeeds.”

Allura blows her whistle and tosses the red Quaffle up into the air. The three chasers from each team immediately fly for it.

“Chaser captain Jenna Kent, number five on Ravenclaw, gets the Quaffle for her team and heads towards the Slytherin rings, hoping to score. What a great start to the season! Chaser Ryland McGivney, number nine on Slytherin, is hot on her tail. There he goes reaching and reaching and OH SHE DUCKS UNDERNEATH AND PASSES TO CHASER JOSHUA CARLSON, NUMBER EIGHT ON RAVENCLAW! What an amazing pass!” Matt pauses to clap. “Might I add he’s only a second year? It brings me back to my days on-”

“Matthew,” Shiro warns.

Lance snickers at Matt and Shiro, but tunes out Matt’s comments to watch the game for himself. He doesn’t know everyone’s name on each team, mainly because he’s never met them before. He knows Ryland and now Jenna and Joshua, thanks to Matt. Lucy and Hannah are friends with the Keeper, Macy Gills, and one of the Beaters, Tasha Parks, on Ravenclaw so he’s able to pick them out. Macy wears the number 2 jersey while Tasha has on the number 6 jersey. Macy currently hangs back by the Ravenclaw rings, guarding them in case Ryland or any of the other Slytherin Chasers try to score. Being a Keeper never really stuck out to Lance because of all the pressure they have. He could see himself possibly being a Chaser, but the position he dreams of is being a Beater. His sisters already are Beaters for Gryffindor, but that won’t stop him from trying out next year. The seventh years will be gone so that will open up some positions. At least three starters will be leaving so that’s good news for Lance.

Anyway, back to the game. Ravenclaw has scored twice during the time Lance’s mind was who knows where. Lance looks back up to the sky and sees that Keith hasn’t changed positions. The Snitch must not have been seen yet. The Ravenclaw Seeker, on the other hand, is constantly on the move searching for the Snitch. Lance can’t tell which strategy is better - mainly because he has no idea what being a Seeker entails.

“…Ryland readies the Quaffle to pass it over to Slytherin Chaser, Megan Xavier, number eight, and - OH! Joshua flies in and causes Ryland to drop the Quaffle! Amazing job Joshua!”

“MATTHEW!” Shiro glares at him.

Allura blows her whistle and shouts, “PENALTY ON RAVENCLAW NUMBER EIGHT FOR EXCESSIVE USE OF ELBOWS!”

The entire Ravenclaw spectators boo Allura for the call. Lance turns to Hunk. “That was a reasonable call! Joshua elbowed Ryland in the jaw!”

“I know, but everyone over there doesn’t-” Hunk starts.

“ALLURA ARE YOU  _ KIDDING _ ME?!” Matt shouts into the microphone, interrupting Hunk. He and Lance turn to see what Matt is doing. “HE DIDN’T EVEN TOUCH HIM! ARE YOU BLIND?! DO YOU WANT TO BORROW MY GLASSES?!”

“MATTHEW SAMUEL HOLT!” Shiro yells.

“I’M SORRY TAKASHI BUT THIS IS  _ CRAP _ AND I CANNOT STAND FOR IT!”

“IF YOU CAN’T HAVE A BIASED OPINION ABOUT THIS, GIVE ME THE MICROPHONE!”

Lance snickers as Shiro nearly tackles Matt for the microphone. Matt does his best to keep it away, but Shiro is significantly bigger and taller than Matt so the scuffle doesn’t last very long. Once Shiro gets the microphone, he raises it up. “I’m sorry about that. I’m going to have a little chat with the announcer then he’ll be right back.” Shiro turns the microphone off then proceeds to scold Matt.

Hunk and Lance exchange a smirk then direct their attention back to the game. Allura finishes checking Ryland’s jaw then hands him the Quaffle. Ryland flies over into the scoring area and faces off with Macy. Based on what Lance’s sisters have told him, Macy is a fantastic Keeper so she’s gonna give Ryland a run for his galleons, that’s for sure. Ryland, on the other hand, is a different story. Keith hasn’t shared much on what his teammates are like, but from how he clearly idolizes Ryland, he’s a very talented Chaser.

Anyway, Ryland holds the Quaffle with two hands closely to his chest and considers which ring to throw the Quaffle through. Macy is directly in front of the center ring, but looks like she’s ready to make a break for the ring to her left. Since Ryland is left handed, this would seem to be the smartest choice, but…

Ryland takes the Quaffle and chucks it into the ring to Macy’s right, making the score 10-20 with Ravenclaw still leading by 10. The other two Slytherin Chasers fly over and high five Ryland then make their way back to the starting positions so Allura can toss the Quaffle in again. Lance looks back up and sees that Keith  _ still _ hasn’t moved from his spot up high.

As Allura goes to throw the Quaffle in, the Ravenclaw Seeker goes flying past her.

_ The Snitch. _

It takes Keith probably, at most, two seconds to figure out the Snitch is out. He races past the stands where Lance, Hunk, and the professors are, hot on the Snitch’s tail. Lance’s eyes widen as Keith reaches his arm out to grab the Snitch in front of him, but a Bludger comes right at his face. Keith expertly swerves out of the way and speeds up once again to pick up the lost momentum.

Just when Lance thought Keith would actually get the Snitch, Keith’s broom moves from underneath him causing Keith to almost fly into the crowd. His broom becomes more reckless and almost appears to be trying to throw Keith off.

“What’s happening to Keith’s broom?!” Lance demands, worried for his friend.

“I don’t really know, but only Dark Magic could do something like that,” Hunk comments, an expression of worry also present on his face.

Lance narrows his eyes and looks around for Thace amongst the other professors. Once Lance spots him, he notices Thace muttering to himself whilst staring at Keith. “It’s Thace,” Lance whispers angrily at Hunk before maneuvering his way out of the stands.

Once out of the stands, Lance sneaks underneath the seats and crawls to where Thace is standing. Lance closes his eyes and wracks his brain for the right spell. He remembers his dad and Isabella using it to light the bonfires -  _ ah ha! _

Lance pulls out his wand and whispers, “Incendio.” He steps back as Thace’s robes ignite in flames.

He hurries back up to his seat and slides between Coran and Hunk once again. A couple of seconds pass before Thace notices his robes on fire then he frantically tries to put it out with his hand. Haxus and Slav notice him freaking out and proceed to freak out themselves. “I knew there was a chance someone would catch on fire! Shiro! We must end the game now!” Slav exclaims.

“No!” Shiro exclaims, pulling his wand out. He aims it at Thace’s robes. “Aguamenti!” A stream of water comes from the tip of Shiro’s wand, putting the fire out.

Lance turns his attention back to Keith and notices the spell on Keith’s broom is broken so he’s able to regain control. Keith sees the Ravenclaw Seeker stop flying to look around, having lost sight of the Snitch. He smirks to himself then dives down towards the ground, getting the attention of the other Seeker.

Keith turns his head for a second to see if the Ravenclaw’s Seeker is following. Once he sees that he is, Keith turns back forward. He continues in his nosedive towards the ground, but, at the last second, Keith pulls up, causing the Ravenclaw Seeker to crash into the ground below. The entire Slytherin fan section erupts in cheers and applause as Keith flies back up. He pauses for a second then takes off flying to the left once again, hot on the Snitch’s tail.

“HE JUST PULLED OFF THE  _ WRONSKI FEINT _ !” Hunk exclaims.

“GO Keith!” Lance cheers.

Keith extends his arm out, reaching for the Snitch. He gets closer and closer to the section of seats where Lance, Hunk, and the professors are. The Snitch becomes clearer to Lance as it nears them. Before Keith can smash into the stands, he snatches the Snitch out of the air and holds it up triumphantly.

The Slytherin fans go wild as Allura blows her whistle, declaring Slytherin as the winner. Keith looks down to where Lance and Hunk are and smiles widely at them. Lance gives Keith a thumbs up before Keith flies back to his team.

Coran taps Lance and Hunk on the shoulder. “Would you boys like to join me for tea later? Pidge is going to be there to get a headstart on an assignment, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you two came.”

“Could Keith come too?” Lance asks.

Coran chuckles. “Of course. Come by in fifteen minutes, alright?”

Hunk and Lance nod then make their way out of the stands towards the locker rooms to wait for Keith to walk out. After a few more minutes Keith walks out, laughing with Ryland, Megan, and the third Chaser. “I gotta hand it to you, Keith, you can fly.”

Megan nods. “It’s insane! We’ve got the Quidditch Cup in the bag!”

Keith smiles widely at the two Chasers then notices Hunk and Lance waiting for him. “Hey, uh, I promised my friends I’d hang out with them after the game, but if you guys need-”

Ryland chuckles and shakes his head no. “Nah dude, you’re good. I’ll see you at practice on Monday.” He pats Keith on the shoulder then walks away with Megan and the third Chaser.

Keith waves to them then hurries over to Lance and Hunk. “Hey guys! Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine! Awesome job by the way!” Hunk exclaims. “It felt a little weird cheering for Slytherin, but at least you guys won! When you play Hufflepuff, don’t expect me to betray my own house!”

Keith chuckles. “I don’t expect your loyalty to waver, but I don’t want tears when you lose.”

Hunk gasps, pretending to be offended. “Rude!”

Lance chuckles. “Okay, well, Coran invited us to his office for tea so let’s go!”

“Me too?” Keith asks.

Lance nods. “Duh! Come on!”

Hunk, Lance, and Keith head into the castle and up to Coran’s office. Once they get there, they knock on the door. Feet shuffle from behind the door then it opens, revealing Coran. He smiles widely and lets them inside. “Hello boys! The tea is almost ready and Pidge is almost done with her project.” He turns to Keith. “And fantastic job to you, Keith! I’ve never seen flying like that before!”

“Yeah, he handled having his broom cursed pretty well,” Lance comments, plopping down on the couch.

Pidge drops the tool she was holding and looks at Lance. “It  _ was _ cursed?! I knew it!”

“That’s what was happening?” Keith asks.

Lance nods. “I saw Thace muttering under his breath so he had to be the one doing it!”

Coran sets down the tray of teacups and sits next to Lance on the couch. “What is this about Thace?”

“He was the one causing Keith’s broom to go all wacky,” Lance explains. “He was glaring at Keith and muttering under his breath.”

Coran shakes his head. “I can’t believe that, Lance. His robes caught on fire during the game so it couldn’t have been him!”

“Keith’s broom stopped going crazy after that happened!” Lance defends. “Coran, please…the evidence is overwhelming!”

Coran shakes his head no. “Sorry my boy, but it just doesn't add up!”

Lance huffs and crosses his arms, pouting. Keith chuckles then turns to Coran. “Last night when Lance and I were walking back from the Great Hall, we heard him talking with Slav about a three-headed dog on the third floor,” he shares.

Coran raises an eyebrow. “You listened to their conversation?”

“Thace was yelling at Slav about the dog so it was kind of hard not to listen,” Keith explains. “Thace’s arm was covered in bandages and his face had scratch marks on it. He also yelled at Slav about it not being trained? Why would it be Slav’s problem?”

Coran sighs. “Because Fluffy belongs to Slav.”

Pidge bursts out laughing from the table she is working at. “Fluffy?! What kind of a name is that?!”

“I don’t know what Slav was thinking, but it does seem to be a silly name for a guard dog,” Coran agrees.

“Guard dog? What is it guarding?” Lance questions, picking up on Coran’s mishap.

“What? How did you - oh quiznak! You weren’t supposed to know that!” Coran exclaims.

“Well now we do know so you have to tell us otherwise we won’t stop bugging you about it,” Keith says in a monotone voice.

Coran sighs again. “No one knows exactly what is down there. The only two people who truly know are Shiro and Nicolas Flamel.”

Pidge perks up and walks over to the others. “Who’s Nicolas Flamel?”

Coran stands up. “Nope! I am not telling you all anything else! I am cutting this short today because I don’t want to reveal anything else! Pidge, are you done?”

“Yes, but-”

“Excellent! Now get out of my office!” Coran exclaims as he ushers the four students out.

“Coran!” Hunk exclaims as they stumble into the hallway.

“Have a lovely day! It’s always a pleasure!” he exclaims before slamming the door shut.

Keith, Hunk, Lance, and Pidge all look at each other with surprised expressions. Based on their expressions, Lance can conclude that they’re all thinking the same thing:  _ we’re not going to stop until we know the truth. _

What could be under that trap door? If anyone’s gonna find out, it’ll be Lance and his friends.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm literally Lucy when it comes to Keith, let's be real here. Also, why is Coran being so secretive all of the sudden? And when will we finally see a drawing of Coran?  
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Hope you liked this long chapter! Thanks for reading!
> 
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)


	9. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everywhere you go  
> Take a look at the five and ten glistening once again  
> With candy canes and silver lanes aglow...
> 
> Christmas is just around the corner and Lance couldn't be more excited. Due to Luis and Isabella not being in town, he and the rest of his siblings remain at Hogwarts and spend Christmas there. Normally Lance would be upset by this, but Keith and Pidge are also remaining at Hogwarts. Maybe now Lance could actually introduce Keith to his entire family. Hunk leaves for a family reunion in Hawaii, but, before he goes, the four look a bit harder for more information on Nicholas Flamel...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Christmas time is here,  
> And Christmas songs you love to hear  
> Thoughts of joy and hope and cheer,  
> But mostly SHOPPING, SHOPPING, SHOPPING!
> 
> I love Christmas so much, but now I kinda wish it was December. Y'all should know that I spent this entire chapter listening to Christmas music non-stop. So, if you wanna get in the Christmas mood: boil up some hot cocoa, crank that Christmas music up, snuggle up by the fire and...
> 
> Enjoy!

The next month and a half seemed to fly by quickly. The only interesting thing that occurred was during the Quidditch game of Slytherin against Gryffindor. Lance almost sat with Hunk and Pidge by Coran where the professors sit, but Paul and Delia insisted he sit with them in the Gryffindor section. The game itself wasn’t that interesting…except at the very end before Keith caught the Snitch: Ryland had knocked into Carlos’s broom (whether it was on purpose or not is another story). Keith says it was an accident and that Ryland wouldn’t play dirty like that despite everyone thinking that. People actually use that stereotype against the Slytherin team and get penalties in their favor (which is dirty playing and frankly makes Lance sick just thinking about it). Carlos was NOT having it, especially since no foul was called because Ryland touched the Quaffle before his broom collided with Carlos’s. He shouted and shouted at Allura to call that as a penalty, but she blatantly ignored him. Eventually she called a foul on Carlos and he was forced to sit out the rest of the game. Needless to say, without their center Chaser, Gryffindor didn’t do too well towards the end. Slytherin scored four more times before Keith caught the Snitch…the final score was 200-20. Yeah, Carlos vowed revenge on Ryland.

Lance doesn’t know when the throw down is going to happen, but when it does, things aren’t going to end well. Maybe with Christmas around the corner, Carlos will calm down a bit.

Ah Christmas…Lance’s absolute _favorite_ holiday. Normally he’d be heading home for the holidays because that’s what his siblings always did in past years, but not this year. Lance’s dad is out of town on an important business trip for the Ministry of Magic, and Isabella is on her way to Romania to visit her boyfriend, Patrick (they’ve been dating since their fourth year at Hogwarts).

At least he isn’t the only one staying at Hogwarts over break…Pidge and Keith will be staying as well. Keith is for obvious reasons Lance won’t bring up, and Pidge because Shiro needs Matt’s and Professor Holt’s help with something at the Ministry.

Hunk is heading to Hawaii for a family reunion later today so he’s trying to make the most of his time before he has to ride the train back to the station. He and Pidge are in the middle of a game of chess in the Great Hall while Lance and Keith look through some books they got from the library, searching for any information on Nicolas Flamel. Lance suggested the obvious, saying that Keith could just ask Shiro, but Pidge shot that idea down because it’d be too suspicious and that they weren’t even supposed to know about him in the first place.

Lance is beginning to learn that Pidge makes a lot of good points. It’s a work in progress.

“Lance?” Keith asks, breaking Lance out of his thoughts. “You’ve been staring at the same page for the last ten minutes, are you okay?”

He glances up at Keith. “Oh! Yeah, I’m good. Have you found anything? I haven’t and I’m starting to get a headache from reading this tiny print.”

Keith shuts his book. “Not a thing. Maybe-”

“Oh look who it is! Not a surprise _he’s_ staying here over break,” a voice taunts from behind Keith. “I wouldn’t want a filthy orphan mudblood like that at my house over the holidays!”

Lance looks up and sees Damien Morrison and Bethany Mathesi standing behind Keith with smug expressions on their faces. “He’s so pathetic. I don’t blame Shiro for not wanting to take him home. I bet he didn’t even get Keith anything!” Bethany exclaims before laughing loudly.

Pidge whirls around and glares at the two Slytherin kids. “Excuse me? What gave you the right to talk to our _friend_ like that?”

Damien scoffs. “What gave _you_ the right to speak to us, pipsqueak? You’re too young to be here so why don’t you just-”

“HEY!” Lance yells, standing up angrily. “How about you two go piss off before things get ugly! Well, uglier than they already have now that I have to look at the both of you.”

Bethany’s jaw drops. “I AM NOT UGLY!”

Lance raises an unamused eyebrow. “You sure about that? Is that a _zit_ I see?”

She screams and covers her face. “Damien! Do something!”

“I don’t think Buck-Teeth McGee here could do anything! He’s too busy chewing on wood,” Lance says nonchalantly. Growing up with five siblings makes one an expert at insults…he’d have to thank Marco later.

Damien narrows his eyes at Lance. “You’re gonna regret that, McClain.”

Lance chuckles. “I highly doubt that, but I’m looking forward to it, Morrison. Now I suggest you two get lost before I give you both matching shiners!”

“You wouldn’t punch a girl!” Bethany yells.

“I would!” Pidge retorts, standing on the bench. “NOW GET LOST!”

She yanks her wand out and aims it at Damien and Bethany. “NOW!”

Bethany shoves Damien and they hurry out of the Great Hall. Lance glares at them until they’re gone then sits back down. He reaches across the table and holds Keith’s hand. “You okay, Keith?”

Keith nods and wipes the tears off of his face. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

Pidge slides over to Keith and hugs him tightly. “Don’t let those jerks get to you…they’re just jealous you’ve got such awesome friends.”

Hunk nods. “We’re always here for you. I won’t do what Lance and Pidge just did because that terrifies me, but I’ll always be a shoulder to cry on.”

Keith chuckles. “Thanks Hunk.”

Lance squeezes Keith’s hand. “I’ll always fight for you, Keith. No one should be treated like that.” He pauses and thinks for a moment. “Actually, there is someone who wronged you and still hasn’t made up for it.” Lance stands up. “You’re going to meet the rest of my siblings and Carlos is going to apologize for what he did.”

“Lance, I appreciate the gesture, but it’s fine-” Keith starts.

“No! It’s not fine, Keith! Just…please? It’ll make me feel better,” Lance pleads.

Keith sighs. “Okay, fine. Where are we gonna go?”

“I know the twins are in the library, Marco is over at the Hufflepuff table, and we’ll find Carlos.” Lance leads Keith over to where Marco is. “Marco, hay junta de emergencia en la librería, ahora.”

Marco gives him a quizzical expression. “Que? Porqué?” He turns to Keith. “Quien es este? Que no es-”

“El es mi amigo, Marco, entonces no seas grosero. Mejor ve a la librería y busca a las gemelas, por favor? ¡No te hagas que ni es difícil!” Lance crosses his arms and glowers at Marco.

He raises his hands in fake surrender. “Está bien, está bien.” Marco turns back to his friends. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll catch you guys later, okay?”

Keith looks at Lance. “Were you just speaking Spanish?”

“Duh.” Lance winks at Keith. “You like?”

“I didn’t understand a word so, uh, no?” Keith shrugs.

“Jerk.” Lance elbows Keith playfully before turning to Marco. “Do you know where Carlos is?”

“He’s gonna fight Ryland today, but that’s all I know,” Marco replies as he, Lance, and Keith make their way to the library.

“Because of the game? I didn’t think he was that serious about it!” Keith exclaims. “Megan won’t let Carlos do anything to hurt him.”

“Are they a thing? I keep getting that vibe,” Marco says.

Keith shakes his head no. “Ryland is seeing someone, but he won’t tell anyone who.”

“She’s probably in another house then,” Marco concludes. He turns to Keith. “I’m Marco by the way. You’re Keith Kogane, right?” Marco holds his hand out for Keith to shake.

Keith nods and shakes Marco’s hand. “The one and only.”

“Nice to finally meet you. Lance doesn’t shut up about you in the common room,” Marco shares.

Lance smacks his brother. “¡Pendejo! ¡No le digas eso!”

Marco snickers. “Sorry bro, but it’s the truth! Anyway, you’re an amazing Seeker, but don’t tell any of the Gryffindor team I said that…mainly because my siblings are on it.”

“Why don’t you play?” Keith asks Marco.

Marco shrugs. “It never peaked my interest to play. I prefer watching, honestly. I kind of like what Matt Holt does.”

“Announcing? I’m sure if you talked to Shiro he’d let you try it out. It’ll lower his blood pressure whenever Matt speaks into that thing,” Keith says.

“I wouldn’t want to bug the headmaster. He’s got a lot on his plate.” Marco turns his gaze to the floor.

“I could come with you if you want,” Keith offers. “Matt can’t announce forever so someone’s gonna have to take his place eventually.”

“Yeah because one of these days Shiro is gonna kill Matt,” Lance adds with a chuckle.

Marco smiles. “Thanks Keith…I’d like that.”

Lance, Keith, and Marco walk into the library and spot Hannah and Lucy in some of the lounge chairs towards the left of the room in one of the corners where students can go to study in groups. There are other single desks scattered around the large library if a student wants to study by them self. On these single desks, there are little lamps on them so if it’s late at night, the student can still see.

Other than the lounge area where Lance’s sisters are, the library is basically filled with books. The tall ceilings have shelves lined with books all the way to the top. How does one reach those? Good question. Lance honestly has no clue, but that’s what the librarian is for. If a student needs any book, it’s her job to get it. There are steps to a balcony-type area to reach the books that are up higher if a student wants to look for the book them self.

Towards the back of the library lies the forbidden section. Teachers don’t want kids snooping around there so they made a rule that they’re not allowed back there. Lance isn’t quite sure what is back there but he knows for sure it’ll definitely have something Lance and his friends need on Nicolas Flamel.

Keith taps Lance’s shoulder and motions for Lance to follow him and Marco over to the twins. Lucy’s expression brightens when she sees Keith with Marco and Lance. “Keith!” she exclaims then runs over to give him a hug. “It’s so nice to see you again!”

Keith chuckles. “You too, Lucy.”

“Don’t scare him away, Lucy,” Hannah scolds slightly. She turns to the person who Lucy was sitting next to. “She met Keith once and said she _adopted_ him or whatever. I don’t really see why.”

The guy, who Lance now recognizes as Ryland, turns around and chuckles. “Well, when I told the team Keith was joining, Megan wanted to do the same thing.”

Hannah chuckles. “Now I think _I_ want in!”

Lucy turns and glares at her twin. “Over my dead body.”

“That can be arranged,” Hannah replies with a smirk.

“Whoa, let’s not-”

“YOU!” a voice booms from behind Lance, Marco, Keith, and Lucy. They turn around and see Carlos storming over. At first Lance thinks he’s talking about Keith, but once he walks past him, Lance figures out who Carlos’s real target is: _Ryland_.

Ryland rolls his eyes. “Look, Carlos, can’t we just put this behind us? It’s been a week.”

“You _cheated_ and you expect me just to let it go?! Hell no!” Carlos grabs Ryland by the collar and yanks him to his feet. “I’m gonna make you _pay_ for what you did! I could have fallen off my broom and _died_!”

Ryland glares at Carlos. “I didn’t mean to hit your broom! I don’t even know how it happened!”

“I’ll tell you how, it’s because you’re a low-life scumbag just like your Galra Phantom parents!” Carlos yells.

The librarian shushes them from behind her desk.

“My parents aren’t Galra Phantoms. Why would you think that?” Ryland asks, genuine hurt in his voice.

“Because you act like one. You’re dishonorable and you’re a disgrace to Quidditch. You don’t deserve the captain position.”

Ryland clenches his jaw and looks at the ground. “You’re wrong.”

Carlos tightens his grip on Ryland’s shirt. “You worthless-”

“Stop!” Lucy exclaims suddenly. “Let go of him, Carlos! He didn’t do anything wrong!”

Carlos turns and looks at Lucy with wide eyes. “Why are you set on defending this idiot!? He’s friends with the people who told lies about you! You should be on _my_ side! And why is he even here in the first place? Since when did you ever start hanging out with him?!”

“Being in the same house makes you friends with everyone?! That’s highly arrogant of you, Carlos. So what if I like being with Ryland? I don’t see a problem with it!” Lucy retorts.

Carlos releases Ryland and turns his whole body to Lucy. “He’s terrible! He’s a lying, cheating, son-of-a-”

“BECAUSE I LOVE HIM!” Lucy shouts.

Everyone goes silent, the librarian doesn’t even shush them (probably because she’s interested in the gossip). Lance, Marco, and Keith exchange shocked expressions with each other, not having expected the argument to take this turn. Hannah looks at the ground, slightly amused, trying to hide her smirk. Ryland smiles softly at Lucy, eyes full of adoration.

Carlos looks from Ryland then back to Lucy. “Wh-what? But-”

Lucy sighs. “How do you think the rumors stopped? It wasn’t just because of you, Carlos.”

Carlos’s expression turns from anger to hurt. “How long have you been with him?”

Lucy turns to Ryland and smiles. “Two years.”

“YOU HAD A BOYFRIEND FOR TWO YEARS AND YOU DIDN’T TELL US?!” Lance demands, probably ruining the moment, but he doesn’t care. He feels utterly betrayed by his favorite sister.

Lucy winces when Lance yells then turns to him. “I had to keep it a secret, Lance. Carlos surely would’ve killed him if he found out. I mean look what’s happening right now.”

Hannah scoffs. “It wasn’t that hard to figure out. I found out when they were only three months in.”

“How?!” Marco asks in disbelief.

“It’s a twin thing,” Hannah answers with a wink.

Despite being twins, Lucy and Hannah are polar opposites. Hannah has more of a sassy, no-nonsense kind of personality whereas Lucy has a sweet, understanding personality. Lucy’s hair is a tad darker than Hannah’s and she has a rounder face. Hannah’s hair matches Lance’s, both being a lighter shade of brown, and she has a more oval-shaped face.

They’re both awesome, but if Lance had to pick one of them, he’d choose Lucy…she’s nicer to him after all!

“Also I saw the letters they wrote each other,” Hannah adds, interrupting Lance’s thoughts.

Lance turns and glares at Ryland. “If you hurt her…I will kill you in the worst way possible.”

Ryland chuckles. “You’ll have to get in line. Hannah already called dibs the moment she found out.”

Lucy rolls her eyes. “Ryland’s a good guy so if any of you have an issue with that, too bad because I frankly don’t care.” She laughs and Ryland puts an arm around her. He smiles widely at her, eyes crinkling and almost sparkling in admiration. Lance turns to Keith and raises an eyebrow.

Keith steps closer to Lance and leans in to whisper in his ear. “Ryland never stopped talking about his mysterious girlfriend in the locker room so I’d say she’s in good hands.”

Lance turns back to Ryland and Lucy and sees Carlos walk up to them, saying something which causes Ryland to laugh. He says a few more things before Ryland turns to Lucy and kisses her cheek. Lucy waves goodbye and Ryland walks away, passing Lance and Keith. Ryland ruffles Keith’s hair and pats him on the back before walking out.

“I guess he’s kind of cool,” Carlos admits. “I’m sorry I was such a jerk before. I guess I shouldn’t judge someone without getting to know them first.”

Lance steps forward and drags Keith with him. “You should be apologizing to Keith.”

Carlos raises an eyebrow and turns to Lucy. She smiles and nods, assuring Carlos that Lance is being serious. “Well, I guess I do owe you an apology, Keith. I’m sorry I was rude to you on your first day…I was just looking out for my baby bro.” Carlos smiles at Lance.

Keith nods. “I understand and I forgive you.”

Hannah grabs Keith’s arm and pulls him onto the couch next to her. “So, Keith, are you interested in becoming an honorary McClain?”

Lance giggles and sits on the other side of Keith. “It’s the best thing! Hunk is also an honorary McClain.”

Marco and Carlos join Lucy on the opposite couch. “It really is. I think he’s ready,” Lucy says, putting an arm around Marco.

“Guys I can’t. I don’t deserve this!” Keith exclaims. “I’ve never had a real family before.” He looks at the ground with a glum expression.

Lance takes Keith’s hand again. “Well, think of it as an early Christmas present! I’ll share my family with you, Keith. I never want you to feel alone ever again.”

Keith looks up at Lance, hope in his eyes. “Do you really mean that?”

Lance nods. “Of course I do, why would I ever lie to you?”

Keith chuckles, tearing up a bit before he hugs Lance tightly. “Thank you, Lance. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Lance hugs Keith back tightly, silently wondering: why anyone would be mean to this kid? Okay _sure_ Lance was mean to him, but that’s before he got to know Keith. Damien and Bethany are just cruel and Lance is, what Slav would say, 99.9% sure they know Keith means no harm, so why do they continue to treat Keith like crap on the bottom of their shoe? It makes no sense!

Well, Lance isn’t going to stand for it any longer. He releases Keith then turns to Hannah and Lucy. “Uh, can you two come with me for a second? Hunk wanted to talk to you.”

Lucy nods and stands up. “Sure! Where are they?”

“Great Hall,” Lance responds before turning to Keith. “We’ll only be a second, but if we’re not back in ten minutes then you should come find us.”

Keith raises an eyebrow and smirks. “Think you’ll get lost?”

Lance sticks his tongue out at Keith before following Hannah and Lucy out. “Okay, so, Hunk doesn’t actually need to talk to you.”

“Okay then what the hell, Lance?” Hannah asks.

“I need your guys’ help to get dad on board with getting Keith a Christmas gift. I want him to feel like he’s part of a family,” Lance explains.

Lucy and Hannah exchange smiles. “We’ll send dad a letter, alright?” Lucy reassures Lance.

“But we get to use Blue,” Hannah says.

Lance rolls his eyes. “Fine! Just hurry!”

The twins run off to where the owls are while Lance runs to the Great Hall. He finds Pidge and Hunk still playing their game of chess. He walks up to them just as Hunk takes Pidge’s king. “Check mate!” Hunk exclaims.

Pidge slams her hands on the table in frustration. “WHAT?! How is that possible?! I didn’t even see that move!”

Hunk smiles. “I’m the pro at this game.” He notices Lance. “Oh hey! Where’s Keith?”

“Bonding with my brothers. We made him an honorary McClain - now I need a favor from you two,” Lance says, getting to the point.

“Depends, what’s in it for us?” Pidge asks, raising her eyebrow.

“I haven’t even told you what it was yet!” Lance exclaims.

Hunk chuckles. “What do you need, Lance?”

“Write a letter to your parents asking them to get Keith a present for Christmas. It’ll be so cool to see Keith’s reaction when we open up presents next week Thursday. Hunk, I know you won’t be there, but just picture it!” Lance exclaims.

Hunk chuckles. “Actually, my parents already did get him something. They asked if I made any new friends and I told them about Keith and Shay. Then they asked more about them so I told them that Keith made the Slytherin Quidditch team, is insanely talented at Charms and Transfiguration - according to what you’ve complained to me in the past, Lance - and that he’s really passionate about astronomy.”

“He likes astronomy too?” Lance smiles to himself. “Huh.”

“I’ll send a letter to Matt. He’ll figure out the perfect thing to get Keith. You guys wanna come with me to the-” Pidge starts, but an owl screech interrupts her.

Lance turns and sees Blue fly into the Great Hall and land in front of them. “Oh hello beautiful. Did Hannah make you upset?” He holds out his hand and Blue nuzzles against it affectionately. “That’s my girl.”

Suddenly Red jumps onto the table and meows at Blue before plopping down and rolling on her back. Blue turns her attention to Red and coos.

“What is happening?” Pidge asks. “Since when can an owl and a cat be friends?”

Blue nuzzles her head on Red’s belly, causing Red to purr loudly. Lance squeals happily and giggles. “THAT’S ADORABLE!”

Pidge furrows her eyebrows. “What kind of a noise is that?!”

Lucy and Hannah run into the Great Hall and over to them. “We were about to give her the letter but this cat came and chased Blue out!” Lucy exclaims. She notices the owl and the cat cuddling. “Oh…so the cat is a friend?”

“Aww she’s more than a friend.” Lance scoops Red up into his arms and kisses her head. Red meows and licks Lance’s face. “I missed you too, Red!”

Lucy scratches Red behind the ears and looks at the collar. “Oh! She belongs to Keith!”

Hannah laughs. “That’s hysterical! Oh my god!”

“Hey Keith!” Hunk waves Keith over when he enters the Great Hall. “Red has a new friend!”

“What are you talking - Red!” Keith exclaims, eyes widening. “Lance, don’t encourage - oh my goodness.”

Blue hops onto Lance’s shoulder and nuzzles against Red’s head. Lance smiles widely. “Keith, they’re bonding!”

“I see that,” Keith replies bitterly. “Have you been sneaking out to visit this owl?” Keith walks up to Lance and takes Red from him. “Bad kitty.”

Red meows loudly and hisses at Keith before jumping out of his arms. “Red! What the hell?!” Keith demands.

Lance chuckles then takes the slip of paper out of Hannah’s hand and ties it to Blue’s talon. “Take this to dad, okay? Goodbye beautiful.” He kisses her beak before she flies away. Red whines loudly, sounding like a crying baby.

Hannah taps Lucy’s shoulder and gestures for her to follow. They wave goodbye to Lance then leave the Great Hall.

“Oh my - _KEITH SHUT YOUR CAT UP_!” Pidge exclaims. “Hunk and I are _trying_ to play a game here!”

“She misses her friend!” Lance exclaims before picking up Red in his arms. “Blue will be back soon, don’t worry.”

“Check!” Hunk exclaims.

“ _WHAT_?!” Pidge shrieks. “I surrender! You win, Hunk…good game.”

Hunk smiles widely at Pidge and holds his hand out for her to shake. “Good game indeed! You’re a worthy opponent!”

“Worthy?! You kicked my butt!” Pidge exclaims.

“Yes, but it took longer than usual.” Hunk smiles at her. “Don’t sell yourself short, Pidge. It-”

“Hunk, short jokes aren’t nice,” Lance teases him.

“I-I didn’t - I’m sorry Pidge!” Hunk exclaims.

“You didn’t do anything, Hunk. Lance is the jerk,” Pidge says as she helps Hunk put away the chess board. “Alright, so, we need to find more about this Nicolas Flamel guy in order to figure out what the three-headed dog is guarding. Hunk is leaving for Hawaii tomorrow…traitor…so we have to gather stuff while he’s here.”

Hunk frowns. “I’m sorry for having a family reunion in Hawaii!”

“Don’t sweat it, Hunk. Pidge is still salty about losing chess,” Lance reassures Hunk.

Keith holds Pidge back so she doesn’t attack Hunk. “Okay, let’s head to the library!” He takes Red from Lance. “You need to stop escaping, alright? I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Red meows and nuzzles against Keith’s chin. She purrs and walks so she’s perched around Keith’s neck then flicks her tail in his face before hopping down and running off. Keith huffs and rolls his eyes. “She’s a jerk,” he says.

Lance giggles. “Well, she learned from the best.” He puts his arm around Keith and gives him a noogie.

“Piss off Lance!” Keith exclaims, smiling widely as he tries to shove Lance away.

Pidge rolls her eyes. “Stop being weird and _move_! We’re burning daylight!”

“Pidgey, we’re inside the castle,” Lance says.

She aims her wand at him, causing Lance to take off sprinting towards the library. His friends follow after a couple minutes. “Okay, Pidge, where should we look?”

Pidge motions for her friends to follow her. She leads them through the bookshelves over to the forbidden section of the library. Hunk immediately stops in his tracks. “Guys, I’m not going in there.”

“What?! Why not?!” Pidge demands.

“I’m not risking a detention right before break!” Hunk exclaims. “My parents will _kill_ me!”

Pidge sighs. “Fine, just keep watch while the rest of us go and-”

“Go and what?” the librarian asks from behind Pidge, Keith, and Lance. “You should listen to your friend. Now get out of the library before Haxus catches you out past curfew.”

Pidge sighs and slumps her shoulders. “Well that was a bust.”

Lance waves goodbye to the librarian as they walk out. “Bye and Merry Christmas!”

The librarian smiles and waves goodbye to him. “Merry Christmas to you too!”

The four say their goodbyes to each other and hug Hunk goodbye in case they don’t see him before he leaves tomorrow. Lance is a tad disappointed they weren’t able to find anything about Nicolas Flamel, but he and his friends deserve a break from the searching for now, besides, they had all break to go and look for clues. He couldn’t even focus now even if he wanted to…Christmas is just around the corner and that’s all he can think about. He hopes his dad figured out a good gift for Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's Lance gonna get Keith? Only time will tell...or next chapter will! Also surprise surprise, no Keith in either drawing! I'm pretty shocked TBH. I think next chapter we'll get to see Coran!
> 
> Anyway thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are appreciated!  
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)


	10. Christmas Christmas Time is Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas is FINALLY here! Lance is bouncing off of walls with excitement! Well, not literally, but he's pumped to see what presents he and his friends received. One of Lance's presents is a bit of a surprise to him, but it'll allow for him to go places undetected...maybe he and his friends will finally be able to get some more intel on Nicolas Flamel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been listening to Christmas music non-stop ever since I wrote these past two chapters...I regret nothing.
> 
> As I said in the last chapter, make some hot cocoa, cuddle up with a blanket next to your fireplace, and...
> 
> ENJOY!

After six long, agonizing days…Christmas morning is _finally_ here! Lance hasn’t been this happy since he opened his Hogwarts letter on his birthday. He, Keith, and Pidge promised each other they’d open gifts together in the Great Hall. Keith told them he’d be happy to watch, but he didn’t expect many gifts. Pidge and Lance exchanged a smirk, but played along with what Keith was thinking. Boy, he’s gonna be surprised when he wakes up.

Lance hurries from the Gryffindor common room, somehow carrying all his gifts with him. When he arrives in the Great Hall, he sees Pidge and Keith already there at the end of what would be the Gryffindor table. He quickly joins them and smiles widely when he sees several presents in front of Keith. “Looks like you got a lot of presents, Keith,” Lance comments.

Keith smiles widely and nods. “I know, but I don’t know who they’re from.”

“Open them then,” Pidge says.

“Are you guys fine with me going first?” Keith asks.

Lance and Pidge nod then Keith starts opening the first present. He rips off the yellow wrapping paper to reveal three books on astronomy. The first is specifically about the stars and the meanings behind the constellations, the second is about the planets, and the third is about different galaxies. Keith picks up the card and opens it. His jaw drops in shock. “Hunk and his parents got me these! How’d they know?!”

Lance smirks. “Hunk’s a smart guy…plus he befriended you first so it makes sense he’d get his parents to buy you something. He also knows how much you love astronomy because he told me how you always talked about the stars with passion. He said it reminded him of me.” Lance’s smirk turns into a genuine smile.

Keith smiles. “I’m…I don’t even know what to say.”

“You can thank him when he gets back, now open up more presents!” Pidge urges, getting impatient. Lance can tell she really wants him to open up hers.

Keith grabs one of the green wrapped presents and begins to open that one up. He rips the wrapping paper off and opens the box. “Oh!” He pulls out an Ireland National Quidditch team jersey. “Wow!”

Lance’s jaw drops. “ _WHAT_?!” he yells, infuriated. “PIDGE WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!”

“Uh, only the _greatest_ Quidditch team ever to exist. You got a problem?” Pidge asks.

“Bulgaria is the best you evil gremlin!” Lance yells. “Keith, you need to burn that immediately.”

“Uh, actually Shiro’s a fan of Ireland’s team and he got me into it so I’m keeping the jersey,” Keith shares. “It’s the Seeker’s too! Aidan Lynch!” Keith smiles widely and points to the name _Lynch_ written on the back above the number 8.

Lance rolls his eyes. “I hate the both of you. If Hunk were here, he’d have my back.”

Pidge frowns. “I had more faith in him. Anyway, Quidditch is how Matt and Shiro first became friends. They bonded over Quidditch and their love for Ireland’s team. Matt thought it’d be a nice present, especially since you’re the Seeker for Slytherin.”

Keith nods. “Thank you, Pidge.” He goes over and gives her a tight hug. “This means so much to me.”

Lance smiles at his friends, but directs his attention to the doors to the Great Hall when Slav and Coran walk in, both carrying large presents. Technically Slav’s gift is in two separate parts while Coran also has a small bag on his arm.

Lance waves to them. “Merry Christmas!” Lance exclaims.

“Merry Christmas to you too, my boy,” Coran replies cheerily. “We come with gifts! This one is for Keith from Shiro and the McClain’s.” He sets down the large present.

“And this is for Pidge,” Slav says as he sets down the two wrapped objects on the table in front of Pidge.

Pidge gestures for Keith to go first. He nods then tears open the present. Keith’s jaw drops when he lifts up the broom. “Oh my god…” Keith trails off.

“Ah yes! A Nimbus 2000! A broom best suited for a Seeker,” Coran shares with a smile.

Keith looks at Lance. “What…how?”

“I had Lucy and Hannah send Blue to my dad, asking to get you something. I didn’t know he’d talk to Shiro about it, but that’s a really cool broom,” Lance comments.

A tear rolls down Keith’s cheek and he runs around the table to give Lance a tight hug. “Thank you so much, Lance.”

Lance chuckles and hugs Keith back tightly. “Don’t mention it. I’m not even the one who paid for it, so why are you thanking me?”

“Lance, you’re the one who came up with the idea to have Hunk and I get stuff for him,” Pidge reveals.

Keith hugs Lance tighter. “That’s why I’m thanking you.”

Lance chuckles. “I’ll take it then!” He releases Keith a bit and smiles at him. “Now we have to watch Pidge!” Lance uses his thumb to wipe the tears off of Keith’s face. “No tears, now. It’s Christmas!”

Keith giggles then sits back down so he can watch Pidge open her gift. Pidge smiles widely at Slav then begins to tear the wrapping paper off one of the objects. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. “Uh…it’s a stand?” Pidge turns to Slav.

“Open the other one then I am sure it will make sense,” Slav suggests.

Pidge shrugs then begins to open the second part. She squeals when she sees the gift. “Slav! Thank you so much!”

Lance raises his eyebrows when he sees the two pieces of a telescope in front Pidge. The thing would be as big as her! Pidge immediately hugs Slav tightly. Her head only goes to his second set of arms. At first Slav freezes, not knowing what to do at first, but, after a few seconds, his bottom set of arms slowly embrace her. Slav’s second lowest right arm pats her on the head. “You are very welcome, Pidge. You can keep it in my office if you would like. There is a ninety-eight point six percent chance you will have a better vantage point to look at the stars from the Divination Tower where my office is located.”

Pidge giggles and nods. “Sure, Slav.” Slav pats her on the head one last time before walking out of the Great Hall, holding the two pieces of the telescope.

Coran hands Pidge, Keith, and Lance smaller presents of his own, each wrapped in their house’s colors. “I think you all will enjoy what I have for you in there.”

All three rip the wrapping paper and open the boxes. They each pull out teacups, all different colors. Lance has a blue one, Keith has a red one, and Pidge has a green one. “Aw, Coran! These are amazing!” Lance exclaims. “What’s with the colors though?”

Coran shrugs. “I just had a strange feeling those colors suited you best.”

Pidge laughs. “Well, _I_ love green so I’m happy.”

Lance nods. “Yeah, this is like my favorite shade of blue so I’m happy too.”

They turn to Keith for his reaction. “Huh? Oh, yeah, my favorite color is red…I mean I named my cat that after all.”

Coran chuckles. “Well I can keep them in my office if you’d like. I just wanted to show you them. Hunk already got his…it’s yellow.”

“Sure, that’d be great. Thanks again, Coran!” Lance exclaims as Coran takes back the boxes with their teacups in them. “We’ll see you later!”

They wave goodbye to him before turning back to the rest of Lance’s presents and Pidge’s presents. “Lance, do you want to go next?” Pidge asks.

“Nah, you can,” Lance replies with a smile.

She nods then opens up her next gift. She laughs and pulls out another Ireland National Quidditch team jersey. The name Moran is on the back with the number 2 on it. “I guess Matt wanted us to match. He has Connolly’s jersey and I think Shiro has Ryan’s? The Keeper? I’m not sure though.”

Keith nods. “Yeah, Shiro has the Keeper’s jersey.”

Lance rolls his eyes. “You all disgust me. Is it my turn now?”

Pidge nods. “Yep! I opened the other stuff with Matt and my dad before they left with Shiro.”

Lance smirks and opens another present of his. Inside is a new quill and three containers of ink. “Oh! I needed this! Isa always knows what I need and when.”

Keith picks up the quill and looks at it. “The feathers on this are stunning. Is there a card that came with it?”

Lance peers in the box again and pulls out the card that came with the quill then hands it to Keith. “There you go!” He opens the next present and laughs loudly. “HAH!” Lance pulls out a Bulgarian National Quidditch team jersey with the last name Volkov and number 7 on the back. “Now _this_ is what I call an amazing jersey! Thank you so much dad, Marco, and Carlos!”

Pidge gags. “Bleh! Get that out of my sight!”

Keith looks back up and raises an eyebrow when he sees the name on the back. “Who’s Volkov?”

“Only the _greatest_ Beater to exist in the history of Beaters! Ivan Volkov is my favorite on the team! He never misses when he hits a Bludger!” Lance exclaims.

“Just open the rest of your presents, Lance. No one cares about your stupid Bulgarian Quidditch players,” Pidge teases.

Lance glares at her before addressing his final present. It’s much smaller than the others, but Lance is curious nonetheless. He gently rips it open, making sure he doesn’t damage whatever is inside. His eyes widen when he sees the beaded necklace inside. He pulls it out to admire the six charms on it. Pidge and Keith look closer at it with Lance.

“Whoa! That’s a cool necklace,” Keith comments. “Who got you that?”

“Uh, the twins did.” Lance picks up the note inside. “They wrote a note.”

“You should read it out loud,” Pidge suggests.

Lance nods then reads:

_Dear Lance,_

_We know this necklace isn’t much and you deserve so much more, but just hear us out. Mom’s death has impacted us all in different ways, but we know it affects you the most because you watched it happen. We thought we’d give you this necklace so you would always have your family nearby even when we’re not next to you. Each of us are represented by a bead/charm on the necklace:_

_Dad is the anchor because it represents stability, hope, and peace. An anchor keeps a boat from floating away from anything that comes its way. Dad keeps you stable through any problems you have in your life._

_Isabella is the bumble bee because it represents work and business. Bumblebees travel from flower to flower to collect nectar to add to their nests and pollen to feed to their young. Isabella constantly works to make sure you are satisfied with what you have and makes sure to get anything you need - she_ always _knows if something is wrong and works to fix it._

_Carlos is the dog because it represents loyalty. Dogs are pack animals and if they lose a member of the pack, it feels like a part of them is missing. Carlos will always stick by you, even through the darkest of times._

_I, Hannah, am the oak leaf because it represents wisdom and longevity. Oak trees are considered the king of the green realm because they represent all that is true, wholesome, stable, and noble. I provide you with good advice whenever you need guidance and always stick up for you, even if I sometimes don’t say it out loud._

_I, Lucy, am the ivy leaf because it represents fidelity and optimism. The ivy vines look like a cord, symbolizing a binding that will keep family and friends close together. I’m always there supporting you throughout everything you do, and I hold you close to my heart (you are my favorite sibling after all)._

_Marco is the shell because it represents sensitivity and adaptability. Shells provide a safe home for some animals and provide a hard shield to protect them from predators. Marco has a protective outer shell that shields him from anything that might hurt him, but he is able to adapt to anything you need because you make him sensitive and protective (even though he constantly picks on you)._

_Finally, mom is the heart because it represents love and care. The heart also represents life and power, as well as guidance, intuition and truth, hence ‘listen to your heart’ and ‘follow your heart.’ Mom denied this, but you were her favorite, not because you’re the youngest, but because of your ability to love. She always bragged about you to her friends and trusted you with just about anything. When she died to save you, she gave you her heart. We decided to represent that in the center heart charm._

_Continue to add more charms to this from the people you meet and come to trust and love. Those who you’ve chosen to put on there must mean a lot to you, Lance. It shows you care immensely about them and that they care just as much._

 

_We love you Lance,_

_Hannah and Lucy_

 

Lance wipes the tears off his cheeks after he finishes reading the letter. “My sisters are too much sometimes.”

“Lance, that’s the sweetest gift I have ever seen,” Pidge comments. “It’s so beautifully written!”

“Thanks, Pidge.” Lance smiles at her before putting the brown beaded necklace on. “Well, I think that was the last gift.”

Keith moves some wrapping paper out of the way to reveal a plain black box. “Nope. There’s one more.” He picks up the note and reads it. “Oh, Lance it’s for you. It just says ‘ _this was your mother’s, I thought you’d want it_.’ No one signed it.”

Lance shrugs then opens the box to reveal a black cloak. “What the heck is this? A cloak?” He lifts it up then puts it on. Pidge screams and points at Lance.

“Your body is gone!” she exclaims.

Lance looks down and notices everything but his neck and head are invisible. He scrambles to take it off and shoves it back in the box. “My mother had _this_?! Guys, do you know what this means?”

“What?” Pidge and Keith ask simultaneously.

Lance smirks. “We can go anywhere we want in the castle now…without getting caught.”

Things just got interesting.

 

* * *

 

After playing around with Lance’s cloak for a bit, checking out Pidge’s new telescope, and watching Keith test out his new broom, finally it’s time for the delicious Christmas feast. Since most of the students went home for the holidays, the Great Hall was pretty empty. Luckily the students didn’t have to sit at their assigned house table (thanks again, Shiro) otherwise Lance would be stuck sitting with just his family. Not that that’s a bad thing, but he’d rather spend it with Pidge and Keith who actually don’t have any family to sit with for the holidays.

The McClain’s, Ryland, Keith, and Pidge all sit at the what would be the Gryffindor table to enjoy the feast. Lance sits between Carlos and Keith while Pidge sits on the other side of Keith. Across from Lance sits Lucy. Ryland is on Lucy’s right, across from Keith, and Marco is on Lucy’s left, across from Marco. Hannah sits on the other side of Ryland, across from Pidge.

In the middle of the table is a giant stuffed turkey, surrounded by various vegetables. The plates on the side of the turkey have mashed potatoes, stew, rolls, and a gravy boat.

“Man, this looks amazing!” Carlos exclaims. “I could eat that entire turkey myself!”

“Please don’t,” Hannah asks nicely, grimacing slightly. “You’d probably explode.”

“Oh? I’d like to see that happen, actually,” Lucy says, smirking.

Lance laughs at his family then turns to the professors’ table to see which teachers stayed. He obviously sees Slav and Coran since they were just with Lance and his friends this morning. Haxus and Thace are no surprise either because they probably didn’t have a life outside of Hogwarts. Shiro’s chair in the center is empty due to him being on a trip for the ministry. Matt’s chair, next to him, and Professor Holt’s chair, next to Matt, are also empty since Shiro asked them to go with him. Lance watches Allura walk into the Great Hall and over to her chair, on the other side of Shiro’s. Now she’s someone Lance didn’t expect to see here. Does she not have family to go home to?

Keith waves his hand in front of Lance’s face. “You okay, Lance? You’ve been staring at the professors’ table for a good two minutes.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry! I was just curious which professors stayed,” Lance says. “Thace and Haxus don’t surprise me, but seeing Allura there does.”

“Her dad has been missing for a while and going home brings painful memories,” Keith explains. “Shiro said he was going to invite her to spend Christmas with him and me, but he got called on that Ministry trip so here I am.” He looks down at his plate sadly.

Lance puts an arm around him and gives him a side hug. “Hey now, don’t be sad. You got to spend Christmas with your best friends!”

Pidge turns and smiles at Keith then leans against his shoulder. “It’s Christmas, Keith, don’t ruin it for yourself by wallowing in self-pity. After dinner, we’re gonna brighten your spirits!”

“Yeah!” Lance exclaims. “I know exactly how to do it!” Lance leans into Keith and Pidge so he can whisper. “We’re gonna use that cloak I got and we’re gonna sneak into the forbidden section of the library and find out more about Nicolas Flamel.”

Pidge’s eyes widen and she shakes her head no. “No! I’m not risking a detention. The librarian was nice enough _not_ to punish us the first time. If we go again, she won’t be! I’m not going.”

Lance scoffs. “Fine, you can be a party pooper.” He turns to Keith. “Don’t tell me you’re siding with her.”

Keith smirks. “And let you have all the fun? Not a chance.”

“Oh yeah! That’s why Keith’s my favorite short person!” Lance exclaims.

“I’M BARELY HALF AN INCH SHORTER THAN YOU!” Keith yells.

Lance pats Keith’s head. “Okay, whatever you say, Keithy-poo.” Keith swats Lance’s hand away then starts eating his food.

During dinner, many topics of conversation pass through the kids as they eat. Mostly they discuss what they got for Christmas. Aside from Lance’s cloak, which he chose not to tell, Keith’s new broom seemed to be the best one in everyone’s opinion. Lance’s beaded necklace from Hannah and Lucy was a close second though.

Once everyone’s just about full from the delicious meal, Lance and Keith excuse themselves then hurry out of the Great Hall. They stop in front of the Gryffindor common room. “Okay, you wait out here and I’ll be right back with the cloak.” Keith nods then Lance turns back to the painting of the fat lady. “ _Felicem Nativitatis diem_.”

She smiles at Lance before opening up the common room for him. Lance turns to wink at Keith before climbing through. He quickly hurries up to the boys’ dorms and opens his trunk to grab the cloak then runs back down the stairs. Lance hurries out to where Keith is waiting. “Let’s go!”

They run to the library and stop in front of the door before Lance puts the cloak over the both of them. The two boys walk in and almost run into another student, but she doesn’t even acknowledge them because she can’t see them. Lance and Keith exchange a smirk before heading over to the forbidden section. The librarian doesn’t even bat an eye at them.

Once they’re in the section, Lance reaches for a book off the wall and opens it. As Keith reaches for another book, the one Lance picked starts screaming loudly. “Lance!” Keith hisses at him. “Put that away!”

Lance scrambles to put the book away before shoving Keith so they can hurry out of the library, still under the cloak. The librarian gets up to investigate the noise, but Keith and Lance are long gone by then. As they’re walking back to the Great Hall, Haxus walks past them. The boys panic and slip into an old classroom to avoid him. They remove the cloak and Lance notices a giant mirror in the room. He slowly makes his way over to it and furrows his eyebrows when he doesn’t see his reflection at first. A picture begins to form and he sees his mother standing behind him, smiling with her arm on his shoulder. “Mamá!”

He turns and expects to see her standing there, but he sees nothing. Keith walks over to Lance when he shouts. “What did you say, Lance?”

“I-I thought I saw my mamá. This mirror showed her standing behind me. Don’t you see it?” Lance steps to the side so Keith can look in the mirror.

Keith’s eyes widen slightly. “No…I see _my_ parents. How is this possible?”

“Because those are your deepest desires,” Allura’s voice says from behind them.

Lance and Keith jump, startled by her. They look at her with horrified expressions.

“Boys, I am not here to punish you. This is the Mirror of Erised,” Allura explains. “It shows you what you desire most. Lance, you saw your mother, right? You wish for her to be alive so the mirror shows you that she is. Keith, you said you saw your parents. You wish for them to be here with you.”

“Allura, what do you see?” Keith asks suddenly.

She raises her eyebrows. “You want to know what _I_ see? I do not even know what I see.”

Lance and Keith step aside so Allura can look. “Now you can.”

She nods. “Alright, but after this you two must go back to your beds. It is past curfew.” Allura walks in front of the mirror, but doesn’t react right away. After a few seconds, her jaw slackens slightly and she gasps.

Allura reaches to touch her left shoulder, but, when she feels nothing on it, she looks at it and frowns. “Well, this is not much of a surprise.”

“What’d you see?” Lance asks.

“I see myself standing with my father,” Allura shares with a sad smile. “His arm is draped over my shoulder.” Her head tilts in confusion and she gasps softly, clenching her left hand. She rubs her thumb over her ring finger, but shakes her head when she feels nothing there. Allura wipes the tear that started to roll down her cheek. “Well, that is enough of that. The mirror is being moved soon so please do not come looking for it again.” She ushers both boys out of the room after Lance grabs his cloak. “Off to bed you two and Merry Christmas.”

Lance waves goodbye to Allura and Keith before heading off to the Gryffindor common room. He wanted to ask Allura what she saw after she saw her father, but decided against it. Clearly it brought up a painful feeling. Once in his bed, he dreams about what the mirror showed him: his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coran Coran the Gorgeous Man...lol the broom DOES look like a super long tie, but I assure you it isn't. SLAV LOOKS SO HAPPY AND I'M???? I love Slav so much :-)  
> No Keith in these pics either...I miss him a little...oh well! I'm sure he'll be back soon :D
> 
> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated!  
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)


	11. A New Year and A New Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Christmas comes to an end, the race to figure out who Nicolas Flamel is finally can start. Lance and his friends devise a plan to sneak into the library's forbidden section to look for anything about him, but they'll need some help from some friends...maybe even a teacher...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the fastest update ever. It would've been even EARLIER today if I didn't discover a bug on my bed. Let's just say the following ten minutes wasn't enjoyable...
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

The rest of Christmas break seemed to go by pretty fast. Lance and Keith told Pidge about what they saw in the Mirror of Erised and what Allura told them. She wasn’t surprised that Allura said she saw her father, but wondered why she felt for something on her left ring finger. According to Pidge, Matt always thought that one day Shiro and Allura would get married, but that changed when Allura claimed to have a thing for someone in a different year who also was in a different house. She refused to tell Shiro and Matt who it was though.

Anyway, Hunk’s back from Hawaii and he loved the presents he got from his friends. “I’m glad you liked the astronomy books, Keith.”

Keith smiles widely. “You didn’t have to get me anything…none of you did.”

Lance chuckles. “Of course we did! You’re our friend!”

“Plus now  _ I _ can charge you for using my new telescope,” Pidge adds. “The price is letting me borrow one of those books sometime.”

Keith giggles. “Sure thing, Pidge.”

Lance claps his hands together. “Well, now that we’ve got Hunk back, we can continue our search for Nicolas Flamel.”

“We can’t get into the Forbidden Section without being seen and we all can’t fit underneath the cloak,” Keith says.

“I could get Matt to distract the librarian for a while,” Pidge offers.

“But won’t he want to know why he needs to distract her?” Hunk wonders.

“I can get Carlos in on wanting to pull a prank and say that Matt Holt will want to help,” Lance suggests.

“Just Carlos?” Keith asks.

“Ryland will probably join,” Lance adds.

“But I thought Carlos hates Ryland?” Hunk asks.

“Apparently Lucy has been dating Ryland for two years without telling any of us except Hannah. Over break Carlos hung out with Ryland, mainly to see if he’s good enough for my sister, but that intention went away and now they’re good friends.” Lance smiles. “Funny how that works.”

Keith rolls his eyes. “Yeah, Slytherins have a tendency to make certain Gryffindors uneasy.”

“Shut up, Keith!” Lance exclaims. “We’re friends now so deal with it!” He wraps his arms around Keith from behind. “And you’re stuck with me for life.”

Hunk chuckles. “That’s very true.”

“Oh no! Does this apply to me too?” Pidge asks with fake worry.

Lance glares at her. “Jerk!”

“Guys, let’s focus here. How are we going to get Carlos and Ryland on board with this without them getting suspicious?” Keith asks, elbowing Lance in the gut so he’ll move his arms.

“OOF!” Lance glares at Keith for a second before saying, “If we just tell the truth, Carlos will think we’re gutsy and go with it so don’t worry about that.” Lance turns to Hunk. “Hunk, you come with me to convince Carlos and Ryland.”

“I’ll take Keith to talk to Matt then,” Pidge says. “Meet us in front of Matt’s classroom in twenty minutes, alright?”

“Yes ma’am!” Lance salutes Pidge before grabbing Hunk’s arm and dragging him with. “I think they’ll be in the Great Hall for study hall. Crap I don’t know who the teacher is. What if it’s Thace?! Oh my god - he’ll kill me!”

“And he probably won’t let them leave,” Hunk adds. “Let’s just hope it’s not him! Maybe it’ll be Slav or Coran!”

“What if it’s Professor Holt or Allura? What are we gonna do then?” Lance wonders as they get to the Great Hall. “We’re so dead!” They walk in and Slav immediately comes up to them, all of his arms crossed.

“There was a twenty-one point seven percent chance you two would come in here,” Slav shares.

Lance gulps. “Is that a bad thing?”

Slav bends down and narrows his eyes at Lance. “That depends…are you here to light the Great Hall on fire? There is one reality where that happens, you know.”

Lance shakes his head no. “I just need to talk to my brother.”

“Oh! Well, good then! The school is not doomed!” Slav exclaims happily. “Carlos McClain is at the Slytherin table with his friends.”

“Thanks Slav,” Lance says as he and Hunk walk over to where Carlos is. They find him laughing with his friends and some of Ryland’s friends. Lance only really recognizes Jimmy and Charlie out of the group since they’ve been over to the McClain’s house several times during past summers.

Carlos notices Lance. “Oh, hey Lance! What’s up?”

“Uh, can Hunk and I talk to you a second over in private?” Lance asks.

Carlos nods and stands up. He punches Ryland’s arm and says, “Don’t think I’m not coming back for revenge, McGivney.”

Ryland chuckles. “Wouldn’t dream of it, McClain.”

Lance tugs on Carlos’s arm and brings him away from his friends. “Hunk, Pidge, Keith, and I need your help. We need to get into the forbidden section of the library to look up something, but the librarian will surely bust us if we get caught again.”

“Oh, sure! You came to the right guy.” Carlos smirks. “What do you need me to do?”

“I don’t know, but just keep her out of the library for as long as you can. Pidge’s getting her brother to help too,” Lance shares.

“The Matthew Holt?! Oh my god! He’s a pranking  _ legend _ !” Carlos exclaims.

“Wait, he’s a legend?” Lance asks.

“Dude! You have no  _ idea _ ! I don’t think we have time for me to tell you everything, but I’ll share my favorite story.” Carlos smiles widely. “So back when I was a first year, Matt decided to fly in during everyone’s final exams and set off fireworks! Most of the teachers didn’t care, but some thought it was really funny. Professor Quinn, the headmaster at the time, loved it.” Carlos’s smile wavers. “A part of me misses him.”

He furrows his eyebrows and looks at the floor, clearly upset at the memory of Alfor, but he quickly shakes it off and smiles again. “I’m gonna get Jimmy and Ryland in on this too because,  _ mierda _ , it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with the master himself!” Carlos exclaims.

“Okay, well, hurry. We don’t have a lot of time. Slytherin is playing Hufflepuff tonight and we can’t take forever,” Lance urges.

“Yeah, yeah. Give me like thirty seconds,” Carlos says before walking back over to his friends. He says a few things to Jimmy and Ryland and they immediately stand up and follow Carlos to where Lance and Hunk are waiting.

“Ready?” Hunk asks. The three seventh years nod and they follow Lance and Hunk to where Pidge and Keith are waiting with Matt.

Carlos smiles widely at Matt. “Holt, can I just say it’s an honor to be pranking with you.”

Matt chuckles. “It’ll be nice working with some people familiar with my work. Shiro’s such a buzzkill nowadays and never wants to prank with me anymore.” He sighs. “I blame Allura.”

“Stop wallowing in self-pity and  _ go _ !” Pidge yells, shoving Matt towards the library. “Don’t make me regret this!”

Matt chuckles. “Katie, Katie, Katie…”

“Don’t  _ Katie _ me! JUST GO!”

He puts his hands up in fake surrender then leads Carlos, Jimmy, and Ryland into the library. Lance turns to Pidge. “What exactly did Matt plan to do?”

Pidge shrugs. “He didn’t give me details, but he said it was good so I trust him.”

“Good enough for me. Let’s-” Lance starts when a loud scream comes from inside the library. “What-”

The librarian, Matt, and Jimmy burst out of the library with Ryland and Carlos who look like they’re going to puke. They rush past and make their way towards the infirmary.

“That’s our cue!” Pidge exclaims. She leads them inside and to the back where the forbidden section is. They walk in and start looking through books.

Lance picks one out from the shelf and opens it up, seeing it’s about alchemy (which is basically a form of potion making, but centered on the transmutation of two things such as turning common things into gold). Lance scrunches his face in disgust because he despises potions and goes to close the book when a name in it catches his eye:  _ Nicolas Flamel _ .

“Guys! I got something!” Lance exclaims.

Pidge, Hunk, and Keith put away the books they were looking at and walk over to Lance. “Alchemy? Lance, I thought you hated anything that involves potions,” Hunk comments.

“I do, but this book talks about Nicolas Flamel!” Lance exclaims, opening up to the page about Nicolas Flamel. “Here we go.” He clears his throat before reading. “ _ Nicolas Flamel, born before 1327, is a well-known alchemist and the only known maker of the Balmera's Crystal, a legendary substance with incredible powers. He is a close friend and partner with Hogwarts School Headmaster Alfor Quinn _ \- whoa wait a second! What did I just read?!”

“Allura’s dad used to be headmaster?!” Pidge questions incredulously.

“That’s why Shiro was chosen!” Hunk exclaims. “Lance’s dad refused to tell us anything when we went to Diagon Alley to get supplies before the school year started. What happened to him?”

“I dunno.” Lance shrugs. “Maybe we can ask Shiro later?” He turns to Keith as if he’s asking for Keith’s permission.

Keith nods. “Oh definitely. If it had something to do with why he wasn’t here for Christmas then I’m all for it.”

“Continue reading, Lance! I don’t know how much more time Matt has for us,” Pidge urges.

Lance nods before continuing, “ _ He owes his considerable age to the Elixir of Life. He and his wife Perenelle created this Elixir using the Crystal. He’s older than six hundred and seventy years old as of 1972 _ .”

“He’s so old! Since it’s now 1991, he’s got to be like six hundred and ninety something years old now,” Hunk concludes.

“So the Balmera’s Crystal made him immortal?” Keith asks.

“Uh let me see if this book talks about the Crystal at all,” Lance answers as he flips through the book to the index. “It doesn’t have a specific section, but there’s one other time it’s mentioned.” Lance flips to where the book goes into more depth about the art of alchemy until he finds where the Crystal is mentioned. “ _ The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Balmera’s Crystal, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The Crystal will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. _ ” Lance scans the rest of the page to see if there’s any more mention of the Crystal before closing the book and looking at his friends. “Guys, that’s got to be what the three-headed dog is guarding.”

Pidge nods. “It makes sense. So are we going to go ask Shiro about it now?”

Keith shakes his head no. “We can talk to him after my game. Let’s just-”

“I swear I saw them come in here,” Coran’s voice sounds from the front of the library.

“Well it is almost time for the players to start warming up! I knew there would be an eighty-seven point two percent chance Keith would go missing!” Slav replies.

Lance and his friends exchange nervous expressions before carefully make their way out of the forbidden section so Coran and Slav don’t see them. They manage to weave their way through the opposite side, where the lounge chairs are, and casually walk over to where Coran and Slav are looking for them. They pretend to be reading and browsing for some books. Coran rounds the corner and spots them. “They’re over here! We’ve been looking for you four for an hour!”

“Oh, sorry Coran! We’ve been in here,” Pidge responds innocently.

“Well good thing we found you! Keith, it’s time to get ready for the game.” Coran motions for Keith to follow him. “You’ll see your friends after the game.”

“Wait, but Allura isn’t here today,” Keith says. “Who’s the referee it?”

“Thace is! I suggested Shiro do it, but he insisted that he must keep an eye on Matthew Holt,” Slav answers. “I do not see the problem with Mr. Holt’s announcing.”

Keith crosses his arms and glares at Slav. “That’s because Matt is a biased announcer who only cares about Ravenclaw and any team that isn’t Slytherin.”

Slav narrows his eyes at Keith. “I personally see no problem with it. There is a ninety-three point four percent chance Ravenclaw wins the Quidditch cup this year.”

Keith scoffs. “Yeah? Well, I’ll be wondering what that statistic is after I catch the Snitch at today’s game if Thace doesn’t try to screw with my broom again.”

“Not to worry Keith! After what happened to your broom during the game against Ravenclaw, Shiro has the rest of the staff keeping a close eye on everyone at the game today,” Coran pipes in.

“And I’d be happy to fight Thace myself if he tries any funny business,” Lance adds with a smile.

Slav tilts his head slightly. “Hmm, in at least one reality you do best Thace in a duel, but that is far into the future. Anyway! I am in charge of watching the Hufflepuff crowd so you three will be under my watchful eye!” Slav smiles at Lance, Hunk, and Pidge.

“Who says we’ll be sitting in the Hufflepuff section?” Pidge asks with a raised eyebrow.

Keith chuckles. “You guys don’t need to sit with the Slytherin crowd. I wouldn’t ask Hunk to betray  _ Shay _ like that.” Keith smirks at Hunk’s flushed cheeks.

Lance whirls around and his eyes widen at Hunk. “YOU LIKE SHAY?!”

“Aww! Hunk’s excited to see his new  _ giiiiiirlfrieeeeeend _ ,” Pidge teases.

“Ah! She’s not my girlfriend! We’re eleven! She’s just a friend that I met and I admire very much,” Hunk clarifies firmly.

Lance, Keith, and Pidge exchange a knowing smirk, but, out of respect for Hunk, they drop the subject. “Alright, well, good luck Keith!” Lance exclaims. “Even though we’ll be in the Hufflepuff crowd, we’ll be rooting for you!”

Keith smiles fondly at Lance. “Thank you.” He gives his friends a quick hug before leaving with Coran.

“Shall we?” Slav gestures to the door and follows Lance, Pidge, and Hunk out of the library.

For some reason Lance couldn’t shake this excited feeling he has inside. He doesn’t even know what he’s excited for. The Quidditch game? Finally learning about who Nicolas Flamel is? Oh well, he’d figure it out later. For now, it’s time to cheer Keith on!

 

* * *

 

“WELCOME BACK EVERYONE TO ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL NIGHT FOR A QUIDDITCH GAME!” Matt shouts into the microphone. “My name is Matthew Holt, everyone’s favorite Quidditch announcer. Today’s game is between Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Now I know I’m not supposed to have favorites, but, if anyone wants to place bets, I’ve got twenty galleons on-”

“Matthew, I’m not afraid to punch you and take that microphone out of your hands so I suggest you better KNOCK IT OFF!” Shiro yells, audible from the microphone.

“Well, I know someone who needs to go to bed early,” Matt comments with a smile.

Lance turns to Hunk. “Does Shiro even realize Matt’s doing it just in spite?”

Hunk chuckles. “I don't know, but it's funny.”

“Matt’s been doing it for years and Shiro still doesn't realize it,” Pidge says, “and I don't think he'll figure it out anytime soon.”

Lance and Hunk laugh at Pidge’s comment. Shay makes her way over to where they are in the Hufflepuff section. They managed to get a spot in the front by the railings next to the Hufflepuff goal posts. They'll be able to see the Slytherin Chasers score easily.

“Hey guys!” Shay exclaims, moving to stand next to Hunk.

Hunk’s cheeks immediately flush pink. “H-hi Shay.”

Pidge and Lance exchange a smirk before turning to Shay. “Hi Shay!” Pidge exclaims. “You excited for the game?”

Shay nods happily. “I'm not a huge Quidditch fan, but Hunk told me that it should be a good one. He even knows Slytherin’s Seeker!”

“Yep! Keith Kogane! We’re friends with him too,” Pidge says. “I'm willing to bet he catches the Snitch right away.”

Shay raises an eyebrow. “Really? Well, my brother is Hufflepuff’s Seeker and he's been playing for four years already so let's see who gets it first.”

Lance chuckles. “It's gonna be Keith, hands down.”

“We’ll see.” Shay turns to Hunk. “Who do you think will get the Snitch first, Hunk?”

“Uh…” Hunk trails off, clearly terrified of both Shay and his two friends. “Well, I-”

The whistle blows, signaling the start of the game. Both teams circle around before taking their positions in the air. Keith makes his way up top for a high vantage point.

“Shay, what's your brother’s name?” Pidge asks.

“Braxton Clark, but he goes by Rax,” Shay answers. “He thinks it's a cool nickname, but I think it's dumb.”

Lance mentally agrees with her, but he's too focused on the game to respond. The sounds from the crowd drown out as he becomes more invested in the game. Neither team has scored yet, mainly because the Beaters from both teams have been doing extremely well. Lance knows one of the Beaters from Slytherin and one of them from Hufflepuff because both are friends with Marco. Sophia Barre, number 3, plays for Slytherin and Grayson Leon, number 9, plays for Hufflepuff. Lance still doesn’t know why Marco chose not to play Quidditch. He’s just as passionate about it as the rest of his family is, so, what gives?

Lance snaps out of his thoughts when Keith comes flying past him in pursuit of the Snitch. Keith looks behind him and sees Rax, number 8, following close behind. “GO Keith!” Lance cheers loudly.

“Rax is going to beat him to the Snitch,” Shay says. “Keith’s good, but Rax is better.”

Lance smirks as Keith successfully grabs the Snitch out of the air just before Rax does. “You sure about that?”

The Slytherin fans cheer wildly as the Slytherin team flies over to Keith to pat him on the back.

“Well…that was - wow. Who knew a first year could fly like that? Keith Kogane everybody! He caught the Snitch in under five minutes! That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen during my time here at Hogwarts!” Matt exclaims.

Lance turns and sees a fond smile present on Shiro’s face. Seriously, who knew Keith could fly like that? It’s probably because of his new broom. Even Thace is surprised Keith caught the Snitch so quickly. He didn’t even have time to screw Keith over!

Pidge tugs on Lance’s arm. “Come on! We’ve got to go congratulate Keith! You coming Hunk?”

“Uh, I-” Hunk starts, glancing over at Shay.

Shay chuckles. “Go with your friends, Hunk. It’s okay.” She smiles at him.

Hunk nods. “Thanks Shay! You rock!”

Pidge leads Lance and Hunk out of the stands and they make their way towards where the teams will exit. As they’re waiting, Lance notices Thace and Haxus walking off towards the forest. He turns back to his friends to see if they noticed, but Pidge and Hunk are too busy talking about broom speeds and capabilities to even notice Lance sneaking away.

Once far enough away, Lance starts running towards where Haxus and Thace are to listen to their conversation. He darts behind a tree once he’s in earshot.

“…your concern, but won’t six enchantments be enough?” Haxus asks. “I can’t help it that my troll escaped!”

Thace stops walking and crosses his arms. “Haxus, the whole point is to have as many as possible. Coran, Sam, Allura, Shiro, Slav, and myself all provided enchantments. Shiro ordered us to do it.”

“Thace, he’ll understand, alright? Let it go!” Haxus exclaims. “Besides, who’d be dumb enough to steal the Balmera's Crystal anyway?”

Lance’s eyes widen and he takes a step back when-

_ SNAP _

A twig breaks underneath his foot and Haxus and Thace both turn in his direction. Luckily the tree keeps him hidden.

“Someone’s listening. Come on, let’s keep moving,” Thace urges Haxus as he shoves him into the forest.

Once they’re out of sight, Lance takes off sprinting back towards the school. His friends aren’t going to  _ believe _ what he’s got to tell them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MATTHEW HOLT!! Did I mention that I love him? Well, I do :)  
> And Shay is the cutest to ever exist on the planet - no wonder why Hunk "admires her greatly" *wink wink nudge nudge*
> 
> There's about 5 more chapters left to post, but I only have 3 more left to write. I may or may not shave it down to 15 total chapters...it just depends on what I'm doing in the current chapter I'm working on.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!  
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)


	12. Big Dogs and Baby Dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The need to know more about the Balmera's Crystal greatly overwhelms Lance and his friends. They try to get Coran to talk more about it, but he isn't enough. Slav is the next contender, but he has bigger problems to deal with...and he needs the help of Lance and his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another three days and another chapter! I really advise against getting used to this pattern lol bc this is an EXTREME rarity. The last three will be coming much slower due to some research that will have to go along with it...
> 
> I better shut up so I don't spoil anything.
> 
> Enjoy!

A couple months have passed since Lance heard Haxus and Thace talking about the Crystal. At first Lance wanted to go straight to Shiro with this information, but Keith advised against it. He explained how Shiro has been extremely busy dealing with the Ministry about several different things, none of which have to do with the Crystal. Keith tried getting Shiro to spill the beans on what he was working on, but Shiro continued to keep Keith in the dark. When Keith went to ask Shiro where Red was, he heard him and Allura arguing about something. Keith only caught the end of the argument, but, from what Keith heard, Shiro has been keeping Allura in the dark too. She’s upset that he won’t be honest with her especially after everything they’ve been through together.

Keith explained how when Allura was being bullied their first year, Shiro immediately stepped in and defended her, and Matt eventually ended up pranking the bullies. Matt, Shiro, and Allura have been inseparable ever since.

According to Keith, Matt and Shiro were childhood friends, basically being brothers since their mothers actually grew up together. Shiro’s grandparents (his mom’s parents) died when Shiro’s mom was little so she was placed in a wizard orphanage. Matt’s grandparents (his mom’s parents) adopted Shiro’s mom so Colleen and her became stepsisters. Technically this made Shiro and Matt cousins, but they felt more like brothers.

After hearing this, it makes sense to Lance that Shiro would want to adopt Keith. In a way, his mother was going through the same thing Keith is. Except Keith wasn’t placed in a wizard orphanage. He currently lives in an ordinary orphanage while Shiro finalizes the adoption papers. Since Keith’s parents’ bodies weren’t ever found, the process is ten times more difficult because there’s that small possibility they could still be alive.

In Lance’s opinion, it’s kind of cruel to give Keith this false hope when it probably isn’t true. Lance knows that sounds harsh, but if his mother couldn’t survive, there’s no way Keith’s parents did.

It just wouldn't make sense.

Lance really shouldn’t think about this any further. After all, he has bigger issues to deal with. One of them being the fact that Easter is just around the corner, but Lance isn’t as excited as he usually is.

Lance can think of two reasons for this:

Reason #1 is that Pidge and Hunk won’t shut up about exams.

Reason #2 is that the teachers keep giving them crap tons of homework!

“Exams are gonna kill me! I-” Pidge starts, but Keith slams his feather down on the table before she can finish.

“Will you  _ shut up _ about stupid exams?!” Keith snaps. “Not everyone is as smart as you two! I can barely keep up with all the fricken homework the stupid teachers keep giving us!”

Lance nods in agreement. “I’m with Keith. It’s getting annoying.”

“Well, sorry Hunk and I care - oh, hello Coran!” Pidge exclaims.

Lance whirls his head around and speaks before Coran can greet them. “Why is the Balmera's crystal in the school?”

Coran’s eyes widen. “How do you know about that? Why I-”

“And why is Thace so interested in it?” Keith adds.

“I-”

“Are we in danger?” Hunk interjects.

“Can we see the Crystal?” Pidge asks finally.

Coran points to Lance. “I can’t tell you that.” He points to Keith. “He works here so obviously he’d show interest in it.” He points to Hunk. “Possibly.” He points to Pidge. “No.”

“Coran!” Pidge whines loudly, stomping her foot. “We’ll just figure it out eventually! Save us some time and tell us!”

Coran sighs and glances around the room, checking if anyone else is nearby. “Come with me to my office. I can’t promise I’ll be able to answer all your questions, but I’ll do my best.”

Pidge exchanges a wide smile with Hunk, Keith, and Lance before following Coran out of the library to Coran’s office. They follow him inside and sit down. “So what-” Pidge starts.

“Patience, Pidge,” Coran interrupts gently as he begins starting a pot of tea. “Would one of you fetch the teacups from the cabinet?”

Lance hops to his feet and skips over to the cupboards. “I got it!” He opens up both doors and Lance sees several white teacups on the top shelf, but, on the bottom shelf, he sees the colored ones Coran bought Lance and his friends for Christmas. An extra pink, orange, and black one are also displayed next to the original blue, green, red, and yellow. “Coran? Whose are the pink, orange, and black ones?”

“The orange one is mine - Allura thought it suited me, but I don’t know why.” Coran turns and looks at Lance, stroking his  _ orange _ mustache.

Lance slowly raises his left eyebrow skeptically. “I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

“He’s not,” Pidge pipes in from the couch.

“Not surprised - anyway, what about the pink and black ones?” Lance asks.

“I bought Allura the pink one first a while ago. I wanted to buy her a new one, but she loves this one so much, I couldn’t bring myself to replace it. She completely understood and agreed with me. In fact, back when her father was the headmaster, I was the deputy headmaster!” Coran exclaims, eager to share a bit about his past.

Keith sits up at the mention of Alfor Quinn. “So, that’s who Shiro replaced?”

_ Keith, no…don’t find out like this _ , Lance thinks to himself, already knowing what Keith’s doing. He’s trying to figure out why Shiro has left him and Allura in the dark, but Lance knows this isn’t the right way to find out.

Coran nods. “Alfor had gone missing, but I wasn’t ready to step in and become headmaster so I urged for the Ministry to select a new candidate. They obliged and chose Shiro out of all people. I was surprised, but the other professors, my colleagues didn’t protest against it. Shiro then chose Allura to be his deputy headmistress. Matt was devastated at first, but once Sam and I had a chat with him, he understood why Shiro did it.”

“Why’d he do it?” Keith asks.

“Alfor would’ve wanted it that way,” Coran answers. “It’s a shame really…Alfor was a good man. Everyone was devastated to finally hear what happened.”

“What happened to him? I thought you said he went missing?” Keith asks, still wanting answers. His gaze flickers over to Lance.

Lance shakes his head no, mouthing:  _ Don’t do it. Not like this. _

Keith's determined gaze falters slightly.

Coran sighs. “Well, he was-”

“Wait…it’s okay, Coran. I don’t need to know.” Keith offers him a smile. “I’m sorry for whatever happened.”

Coran nods. “Me too…me too.”

After a few more seconds of silence, Hunk speaks up and asks, “Um, so who has the black teacup?”

Bless Hunk’s soul for changing the subject. Lance resists the urge to kneel down and shout praises for his friend.

Coran’s demeanor perks up at Hunk’s question. “Oh! Why that’s Shiro’s! Allura thought he deserved one. She actually helped me pick out the colors for you kids.”

The kettle begins to whistle then Coran brings it to the table. “It’s like she just  _ knew _ those cups belonged to you,” he says as Lance sets out the cups in front of everyone.

“Really? Red? Just because I’m usually angry doesn’t mean I’m-” Keith starts.

Coran laughs, interrupting Keith. “No, no. You have a fiery personality and you rely on your instincts, making you an excellent Seeker. She just felt it matched you.”

“Oh, okay.” Keith sips his tea.

“So, enough about colors and Keith’s anger issues - let’s discuss the Balmera’s Crystal!” Pidge exclaims.

Coran sighs. “I can’t tell you what else guards it, but I can tell you what teachers casted a spell to protect it. Slav has Fluffy guarding the trapdoor, obviously, then the other teachers who provided something are Sam, Allura, Thace, Shiro, and myself!”

“How do we get past the dog?” Pidge asks immediately after.

“What?! Why - no, I am not discussing this with you any further! You may finish your tea then kindly leave my office,” Coran replies.

Lance and Keith glare at Pidge and say, “Nice going.”

Pidge shrugs. “It was worth a shot.”

They quickly finish their tea then say goodbye to Coran. “Well, that was a bust,” Hunk comments as Coran shuts the door behind them.

“We can try talking to Slav,” Pidge suggest. “Though, I don’t know how much help he’ll be.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Lance states. “If we go now, we’ll make it back in time for dinner.”

Keith groans as they make their way out of the castle, down to where Slav’s hut is outside. “I don’t want to sit at the Slytherin table.”

“Keith, you’ve been complaining all year about it. Just ignore Bethany and Damien,” Pidge replies, getting irritated with Keith’s whining.

“I thought you were sitting with the Quidditch team, Keith?” Hunk wonders.

“I am, but Damien and Bethany find a way to torment me. I swear, if I was allowed to, I’d duel them and make sure they stay in the infirmary permanently,” Keith says firmly.

“They’d die in seconds. You know spells that we aren’t supposed to learn for at least four more years!” Hunk exclaims.

“Speaking of which, how did you learn those again?” Pidge wonders.

Keith shrugs. “When Shiro took me to his house for the first time, I read all his spellbooks and some just stuck with me.”

“Is that why you could turn the match into a needle and make the feather float?!” Lance demands.

Keith turns around, walking backwards so he can look at Lance. He smirks, raising an eyebrow at Lance, amused. “No, that was talent and I wasn’t constantly glaring at another student in the class.”

Lance’s cheeks flush pink and he looks away. “Shut up, Keith! You were my  _ rival _ so I had to keep an eye on you!”

“Say whatever you gotta say to make yourself feel better,” Keith replies nonchalantly before winking and turning back around.

Lance clenches his fists and glares daggers at the back of Keith’s stupid head. Stupid Keith making Lance’s blood boil. Stupid Keith being an awesome friend whom Lance would die for. Stupid Keith with his stupidly awesome magic skills. Stupid Keith with his stupid,  _ soft _ hair-

“Lance!” Pidge barks, snapping Lance out of his thoughts. “If you keep glaring at him, you’ll drill a hole through his head.”

Lance huffs and crosses his arms, pouting as they arrive at Slav’s hut. The main part is circular, made completely of stone. The roof, which comes up to a point, is made of dark brown bricks with a rectangular chimney to the right. Lance turns his head to the left as they pass a giant tree stump.  _ A very large tree must’ve been here _ , Lance thinks to himself. On the right of the house is a large patch Slav uses for gardening and growing things. Around Halloween, Lance recalls pumpkins growing there.

Lance and his friends walk up the wooden steps and knock on Slav’s door. They hear something break, a dog barking, and Slav screaming before the door opens. “Oh hello!” Slav exclaims cheerfully. “I was not expecting visitors! Well, that is a lie - never mind that, come in!” He steps aside so Lance and his friends can walk inside.

A large black dog makes its way over to the kids and sniffs them. “Fang! Who’s a good boy?!” Pidge exclaims before holding her hand out for the dog to smell. The dog nuzzles his head against her hand causing Pidge to giggle. “That’s right! You are!”

“So, what can I do for you four?” Slav asks as he picks up some dishes. “I was just - DO NOT STEP THERE!”

Lance hovers his foot above the air and starts to fall forward, but Keith grabs Lance’s arm and pulls him back before he can fall. “Nice catch, Keith!” Hunk exclaims.

Keith smirks. “Maybe Lance’s new name should be the Snitch.”

Lance glares at Keith then turns to Slav. “What the heck?! Why couldn’t I step there?!”

“In several realities the ground opened up and sucked you in!” Slav exclaims. “Do not question my knowledge!”

“Slav, we came here with some questions, not to discuss the realities you see,” Pidge says, changing the topic back to what they came here for.

Slav gestures for them to sit down. “Have a seat and we may talk.”

Lance yanks his arm from Keith’s hand and punches him. Keith laughs at Lance before sitting down at the table in the center of the room. Hunk and Pidge sit down next then Slav finally joins them. “So, what can I do for you four?” Slav asks.

“So we heard a rumor going around that you have this three-headed dog thing somewhere in the castle,” Pidge starts. “Why is it in there?”

Slav crosses his arms. “Why should I tell you that?”

Lance raises an eyebrow, unamused. “Slav, cut the crap. We already know all about you and your dirty secrets. Just come clean and we won’t go to Shiro with what we know.”

Pidge turns to Lance with wide eyes then whispers, “What are you doing?!”

Lance waves his hand at her to tell her  _ I got this _ .

Slav crosses his arms. “How do I know you are telling the truth?”

“Do you really want to take that chance, Slav? You probably know the odds already,” Lance replies smugly.

Slav holds his glare for a few more seconds before uncrossing his arms. “Fine. I have a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon egg! Happy?!”

Lance turns to his friends then back to Slav. “Wait, what? That’s not - holy crap.”

Slav pulls out a box from under the table and inside the box is a makeshift nest with an egg inside. “I won it in a contest! It should be hatching soon, but I am still unsure on when that will happen.”

“Slav, we didn’t know about your dragon egg. We know what the three-headed dog is guarding,” Pidge explains.

Slav sighs. “Well, if you came here to find out how to get past Fluffy, I will not tell you because it is too dangerous. You kids do not know what you have gotten involved in, and, frankly, I think I should tell - oh it is happening! My egg is hatching!”

The kids turn their attention to the box in front of them as the egg begins to crack open. A little grey dragon sticks its head out of the hole and looks around at everyone, blinking curiously.

Lance smiles at the little creature as it breaks through the rest of the egg. Now they can see the green scales the little dragon has. “What are you going to name it?” Keith wonders.

“Norbert!” Slav exclaims. “Isn’t he magnificent?”

“Slav, you do realize dragons are illegal, right?” Pidge asks. “If you get caught with this here, they’ll take it away. Matt was always complaining about the dumb rules because he wanted to bring a dog to school.”

Slav nods. “I know, but I do not know where he could go. I do not want him to be killed.”

“Oh! Isa’s boyfriend studies dragons in Romania! He could take him off your hands!” Lance exclaims. “I can send a letter to him, but I don’t know how long it’ll take to get a response.”

“That would mean the world to me, Lance…thank you,” Slav says appreciatively.

“Do you want to write the letter out? You can use Blue to send it,” Lance offers.

“Who is this Blue you speak of?” Slav wonders.

“My owl!” Lance explains with a wide smile. “She’s the greatest owl to ever exist!”

Slav rubs his chin for a moment then nods. “Blue is a good color…it is my lucky color actually!”

Pidge scoffs. “Slav, believing in luck? Never thought I’d hear those words!”

“I would explain it, but I would just get ridiculed for it.” Slav narrows his eyes at Pidge before grabbing a parchment and a quill. “Who shall I address it to?”

“Patrick Nielsen,” Lance answers. “He’s a really cool dude…basically already my brother-in-law.”

“You ready to have Ryland McGivney as a brother-in-law?” Keith asks with a smirk.

Lance rolls his eyes. “Har har har, jerkface. If Lucy’s happy with him then I’m happy.”

“Wait, your sister is dating Ryland McGivney?!” Hunk asks, shocked. “Whoa.”

“Those were my exact thoughts!” Lance exclaims. “He’s a good guy though.”

“I am finished with the letter!” Slav announces as he rolls the parchment up and ties it. “You four can bring it to Lance’s owl. I have my own matters to attend to.”

Slav ushers the four students out of his hut and closes the door behind them. “Well, he was eager to get rid of us,” Pidge complains. “Oh well, it’s time for dinner anyway. Lance, will you be fine with delivering the letter on your own?”

“Pidge, you’re like six. I’ll be fine,” Lance teases.

Pidge glares at him. “I’m nine, thank you very much. Just for that, I’m not speaking with you for the rest of the night!” She crosses her arms and storms off towards the castle.

Lance snickers. “I pissed her off.”

“We see that. I’d go with you after dinner, Lance, but I promised Shay I’d study with her for the astronomy test tomorrow,” Hunk says.

Keith and Lance exchange smirks then turn back to Hunk. “I didn’t think you needed to study more for that test? Last time I checked you said you could recite everything forwards and backwards?” Keith asks with a smug expression.

Hunk’s cheeks flush and he crosses his arms. “Okay, first of all you’re the one who said that, Keith. Second of all, I do know the material really well so that’s why Shay asked me to help her.”

Keith chuckles. “We’re just teasing you, Hunk. I can go with Lance to drop the letter off then head to our common rooms. When do you think we’ll get a response from Patrick?”

“A day? Depending if Blue gets there quickly, we should probably get an response tomorrow night,” Lance replies. “Anyway, I’m starving so let’s head to dinner!”

The three boys walk into the castle and into the Great Hall. Lance waves goodbye to Hunk and Keith then finds his friends over at the Gryffindor table. Delia and Paul are deep in an argument. “Paul, you’re wrong! I can’t believe you think that!” Delia exclaims.

“I’m just accepting the facts, Delia. I’m not a hater like you,” Paul says matter-of-factly as he takes a bite of his pork.

Lance plops down next to Delia. “So what are you two arguing about today?”

“Paul here thinks Gryffindor will win the Quidditch Cup this year,” Delia explains, “and as much as I want to believe in that, it won’t happen. Slytherin has it in the bag.”

“Why’s that?” Lance asks nonchalantly as he begins to fill his plate with delicious food.

“Uh, you’re friends with the reason, dude,” Paul answers, mouth full of mashed potatoes.

Delia grimaces at him. “Could you not talk with your mouth full?”

“Wait, how many people think this is true?” Lance asks, setting his fork down.

Paul tilts his head in confusion. “I’m pretty sure the whole Gryffindor team and avid fans think Gryffindor has it in the bag-”

“No!” Lance groans, frustrated. “That Slytherin will win!”

“Oh! Almost everyone who has a brain,” Delia replies. “Everyone either despises or loves Keith. I, for one, adore him, but then again a lot of girls find him cute so…” She shrugs as she pours more gravy on her plate.

“Keith’s not that great!” Paul exclaims.

Lance raises an eyebrow at him. “You jealous?”

Paul glares daggers at Lance, but doesn’t deny anything. Delia doesn’t seem to notice nor care so Lance doesn’t speak of it any further.

Dinner went very well…all the food was delicious, as it always is. Lance periodically checked the Slytherin table to make sure Damien and Bethany didn't antagonize Keith. Luckily Ryland had Keith sit with him and the rest of the team so Damien and Bethany couldn't do much - who would challenge the entire Slytherin Quidditch team to a fight anyway? That'd be a quick fight that would end with Damien and Bethany in the infirmary.

After dinner, Lance waits for Keith outside the Great Hall before going up to the Owlery to send Slav’s letter to Patrick. “Do you think he’ll say yes?” Keith asks as he and Lance walk up the stairs to the owls. They start hearing the hooting and noises of the owls.

Lance shrugs. “I mean I don’t see why he’d say no. Patrick loves getting new dragons.”

Keith nods as they reach the top of the stairs and walk inside the Owlery. It doesn’t smell great in here due to the bird feces - someone should really clean it, but other than that it seems like a fine place for the owls to be. There are many little compartments for each owl to have their own spot to sleep. Blue coos loudly and flies over to Lance, circling above him until he sticks out his arm so she can land.

“Hello beautiful,” Lance greets Blue. “I need you to deliver another letter.” He pulls Slav’s letter out of his pocket and ties it to Blue’s talon. “This is going to Patrick Nielsen…Isa’s boyfriend, okay? He’s in Romania.” Lance kisses her head before letting her fly out. “Okay, she should be back tomorrow night. We should get going before Haxus or Thace comes and gets us in trouble for no reason.”

Keith chuckles. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

Lance and Keith make their way back towards the Great Hall just as the prefects usher their houses back to the common rooms. Keith waves goodbye to Lance as he jogs to catch up with the Slytherins while Lance goes with the Gryffindors.

Hopefully Patrick agreed to take Slav’s dragon off his hands…if he didn’t, Lance didn’t know what Slav would do.

 

* * *

 

It took Blue two days to come back with a letter, much longer than Lance anticipated. During dinner on the third day of waiting for word back from Patrick, Slav walks past and hands a letter to him. He bends down and whispers, “Find me outside the Great Hall after you finish eating.” Lance nods then eagerly opens the letter up to read it.

_Lance,_

_I’ve got to say, this owl of yours is very bright and very beautiful. I don’t think I’ve never seen one with blue feathers like hers. You picked a simple, but fitting name for her. I hope you had a nice Christmas. I’m sorry I took Isa away from you for the holidays, but next year I made sure I’ll be in town so we can all spend it together._

_Anyways, I would love to take the dragon Professor Reed obtained. I wrote a separate letter to him explaining what I have planned to get the dragon. I sent two of my friends along with Blue, that’s why this response came so late. They will be coming to Hogwarts tonight - Slav will be telling you the details._

_The eggs Sapphire, the Swedish Short-Snout you named when you came to visit a while back, had hatched. Isa named the little boy dragon after you…I thought you’d like to know._

 

_Best wishes,_

_Patrick_

 

Lance smiles at Patrick’s letter one last time before folding it up and putting it in his pocket. He eats his food quickly, barely listening to the conversation his Gryffindor friends are having then excuses himself to find Slav. He doesn’t notice Keith getting up to follow him until someone taps Lance on the shoulder once they’re out of the Great Hall. Lance yelps and almost smacks Keith across the face. “Dude! You almost gave me a  _ heart attack _ !”

Keith narrows his eyes at Lance. “Well,  _ you _ almost smacked me across the face!”

“You two may finish quarrelling  _ after _ you hand my dragon off,” Slav says as he approaches the boys. “They will meet you directly outside the bridge entrance where you will take them to my hut…that is where Norbert is. I will attempt to distract Haxus as much as I can, but do not dillydally when returning, understood?”

Lance and Keith nod then make their way towards the bridge. “Wait, let me grab the invisibility cloak. That way we definitely won’t be caught!” Lance exclaims.

Keith nods. “Okay, but we have to hurry.” The two boys hurry over to the Gryffindor common room so Lance can enter and retrieve the cloak. Lance says the password then runs up to the boys’ dorms and retrieves the cloak out of his trunk before hurrying back down to Keith. Lance puts the cloak over the both of them and they continue their way to where Slav told them to go. As they get closer to the end of the bridge, they see two people waiting there for them. Lance recognizes them as two of Patrick’s fellow dragonologist (people who study dragons) friends, Victoria and Gabriel.

Lance pulls the cloak off of himself and Keith as they walk up to Victoria and Gabriel. “Hello!” Lance exclaims.

Gabriel jumps, clearly startled. “Goodness gracious! You scared me, Lance!”

Victoria chuckles. “And yet you work with dragons for a living.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s nice to see you again, Lance. Did Patrick tell you about the baby dragon Isa named after you?”

Lance nods. “Yep! Sapphire’s little boy, right?”

Victoria nods. “That’s right.” She turns to Keith. “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh! This is my friend, Keith Kogane. Keith, these are Gabe and Vicky, two of Patrick’s dragon buddies,” Lance shares.

Gabriel chuckles. “It’s nice to meet you, Keith.”

Victoria nods in agreement. “It is and I’d love to chat more, but we don’t want to get you two in trouble.”

“Right! Slav’s hut is this way,” Lance says as he and Keith lead Victoria and Gabriel to where Slav is keeping Norbert.

“What kind of dragon is it?” Gabriel asks. “I forget what Patrick told us.”

“I think Slav called it a Norwegian Ridgeback,” Keith replies as they approach Slav’s door and open it.

Victoria walks in first and smiles when she sees the sleeping baby dragon. “Yep! That’s a Norwegian Ridgeback right there. Patrick was super excited when he got the letter because this is one of the dragons we don’t have.” She carefully picks up the makeshift bed Slav provided for the dragon. “What did Slav name the dragon again?”

“Norbert,” Lance replies. “I don’t know why.”

Gabriel chuckles. “It’s okay. I kind of like the name!”

Victoria rolls her eyes. “Of course you do.” She turns to Keith and Lance. “Anyway, thank you for doing this! Make sure you tell Slav that Norbert will have a safe home with us and that he’s welcome to visit any time!”

Keith and Lance nod. “We will! Thanks for taking him!”

Gabriel and Victoria wave goodbye and head out of Slav’s hut. After a couple minutes of petting Fang, Lance and Keith head out too and make their way back through the bridge entrance to the castle. Since they become too caught up in their conversation, Lance forgets to put the invisibility cloak back on them.

They round the corner, almost reaching the Gryffindor common room, but a hand grabs both Keith’s and Lance’s shoulders, turning them around.

Haxus glowers at them and yells, “YOU TWO ARE IN A LOAD OF TROUBLE!”

Oh no…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >:3 I regret nothing
> 
> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!  
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)


	13. Guess Who's Back, Back Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Haxus and Allura go easy on them? Maybe. Allura is more reasonable than Haxus. Some bullies come back and stir up some trouble, but Keith saves the day in a non-magical way. Detention...Lance's greatest fear...up until him and Keith deal with some spooky stuff in the Forbidden Forest...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR THE DELAY! The artist who has been drawing the pictures for this story boycotted reading over my chapters until she caught up with the drawings...needless to say that backfired immensely on her lol because I have a habit of writing a lot at one time
> 
> Also there's a slight mention of blood so if that's a trigger for you...please be cautious. When you come up to the first picture, there's blood in it and the paragraph immediately after mentions it so if you don't like that, just skip over both of those! The trigger ends at the paragraph that starts with "Oh heck - who's Lance to judge?"
> 
> Enjoy!

Haxus drags Lance and Keith to Allura’s office and pounds angrily on her door. Lance wonders why he didn’t just take them to Shiro, but, since he really doesn’t want to get into any more trouble, he keeps his mouth shut. After a couple seconds, Allura opens the door, clearly not happy with being disturbed. “Haxus, what is the meaning of this?”

“I just caught these two miscreants out past curfew!” Haxus exclaims.

Allura crosses her arms and glares at Keith and Lance. “Care to explain yourselves?”

Lance and Keith exchange nervous expressions before turning back to Allura. “We, uh, got lost,” Lance lies.

“You expect me to believe that rubbish? Tell me the truth or I will be forced to deduct more points from each of your houses,” Allura orders.

“That is the truth! The staircases moved on us and we got lost,” Keith responds bitterly.

Allura looks at Haxus. “You may go. I can punish them on my own.”

“But I’m the one who-” Haxus starts.

“Haxus, please.” Allura points down the hall. “Go.”

Haxus huffs and storms down the hallway. Once he’s out of sight, Allura crosses her arms again and directs her attention back to Lance and Keith. “Boys, please tell me the truth. I know you two mean no harm in being out of bed past curfew…unlike Damien and Bethany whom I punished not too long ago.”

“We were helping Slav out,” Lance says. “He…he had a dragon egg and it hatched.”

“It is illegal to have a pet dragon,” Allura states.

“Yeah, so I told him that my sister’s boyfriend is studying them over in Romania and said Slav could write to him, asking if he could take the dragon in,” Lance explains. “Patrick - that’s my sister’s boyfriend - said he would take it and sent two of his dragon buddies to get the dragon.”

“That does not explain why you were out tonight,” Allura says.

“We were meeting the two people Patrick sent,” Keith butts in.

Allura sighs. “I should be deducting one hundred points from both Slytherin and Gryffindor due to your carelessness, but I am deciding not to. Your intentions were good, but you will serve detention tomorrow night as some form of punishment.”

Lance sees Keith’s expression waver from annoyance to fear. “Will Shiro find out?”

Allura raises an eyebrow. “He may be the headmaster, but I do not have to tell him everything; however, I cannot stop him if he finds out on his own, Keith.”

Keith looks to the ground while biting his lip, clearly trying not to cry. Lance pats his back comfortingly. “I’m sorry, Keith,” Lance says sheepishly.

Keith shakes his head and closes his eyes. A tear falls to the floor from his eye. Allura kneels down in front of him and places a hand on his shoulder. “Keith, do you not know how much Shiro cares for you? He speaks very highly of you.” Allura cups Keith’s cheek in her hand and wipes another tear away with her thumb. “Even if he does discover you got detention, I will make sure he knows you had good intentions.” She offers him a kind smile.

Keith’s lip quivers and he reaches out and wraps his arms around Allura’s neck, hugging her tightly and burying his face in her neck. At first Lance sees Allura tense up, clearly not expecting him to hug her. After a few seconds, she slowly hugs him back.

This reminds Lance of the hugs his mother used to give him and his siblings. Nothing could beat a mother’s embrace. Allura may not be his mother, but Lance knew this was one of those special moments.

Allura rubs Keith’s back and releases him when Keith’s arms loosen their grip. She kisses the top of Keith’s head and squeezes his shoulder. “You will be okay, Keith. Shiro is a very understanding man.”

Keith smiles at Allura. “Thanks Allura…for everything.”

“Not a problem, Keith. Now off to bed you two! I look forward to seeing you in class tomorrow,” Allura replies. “Oh! One more thing, you’ll be with Slav for detention so find him after dinner, alright?”

Lance and Keith nod at Allura before splitting off back to their houses’ common rooms. They were lucky Allura didn’t punish them any further than she did. This was one of the many things Lance enjoyed about Allura. Sure she’s strict and a little scary at times, but, overall, she’s pretty laid-back and easy to talk to about a lot of things. He’s lucky to have her as a house head…if Lance had Thace - well - things wouldn’t be so nice…

The next morning after Potions, Lance and Hunk wait for Pidge and Keith to join them in the courtyard for break before they have to head to their next class. “Lance, I still can’t believe you and Keith got busted by Haxus last night. Why didn’t you put the cloak back on?” Hunk asks.

Lance sighs. “I just forgot about it and I was pretty tired too.”

“But now you have-” Hunk starts.

“MOVE IT KOGANE!” a voice yells from across the courtyard, interrupting Hunk.

Lance turns and sees Damien shove Keith to the ground, causing him to drop his books. Keith’s new astronomy book from Hunk and his parents slides across the floor right to Bethany. She stops it with her foot and picks it up.

“What do we have here?” she asks, flipping the book over so she can read the cover. “An astronomy book?! This isn’t even the one Matt gave us! Why would you do  _ extra _ work?! You’re such a loser, Kogane!”

Lance clenches his fists and storms over to Bethany with Hunk following closely behind. “I suggest you give that back, now!” Lance snarls at her.

“What are you gonna do about it?! Huh?!” Bethany challenges. “That’s right! Nothing! You can’t hit a girl and your stupid Ravenclaw friend isn’t here to back you up!”

Pidge steps up next to Lance and frowns. “I’m right here!” She pulls out her wand and aims it at Bethany.

Bethany scoffs. “You can’t hurt me either! You’re just a stupid little-”

“EXPELLIARMUS!” Keith yells from the ground. A blast of red bursts out of his wand, right towards Bethany. The spell hits her hand, causing the book to fly out of her grasp.

Lance reaches up and snatches it out of the air. He turns back to Bethany and gives her a smug smile. “You lose.”

Hunk reaches down and helps Keith up. “You good, dude?”

Keith accepts Hunk’s hand and stands up with Hunk’s help. “Yeah I-”

“FLIPENDO!” Damien yells, a blast of orange magic coming from his wand, straight at Keith.

Hunk’s eyes widen in fear, but Keith easily uses his wand to deflect the spell back at Damien causing him to flip through the air and land on his back. Keith turns to Bethany and glares at her. “I’m done dealing with you picking on me all the time!” he shouts.

“Yeah? Well, we’re never gonna stop so you can just-”

__

Lance winces as Keith’s fist connects with Bethany’s nose. She stumbles back and her glasses fall off her face, shattered. A stream of blood starts coming from her now crooked nose. Keith smiles to himself like a madman with a bloody fist who committed a murder. Bethany looks at Keith with a shocked expression.

Oh heck - who's Lance to judge? Bethany's been asking for that since day one.

“I’m not a gentleman like Lance is.” Keith points at her with his wand. “Now  _ get lost _ .”

Tears well up in her eyes and she takes off running in the opposite direction, glasses forgotten. Damien scrambles up off the floor and hurries over to Bethany’s glasses, but trips over Pidge’s foot, which she stuck out to trip Damien. Hunk, Lance, and Keith laugh at Damien as he finally grabs Bethany’s glasses and runs off after her.

“Ahem.”

Lance turns around, startled and sees Allura and Matt standing there with their arms crossed. “Allura, Matt, they were the ones who started it! You have to believe us!” Lance exclaims.

“Lance, calm down,” Allura orders.

“We know it was them. While we were walking down the hallway, we saw them pestering both Keith and Pidge,” Matt shares. He turns to Keith. “That was one sick blow you landed on Bethany’s face!”

“Matthew!” Allura scolds. “Keith, is your hand alright?”

Keith nods. “Yeah.”

“I should punish you further, but all you did was stick up for yourself…just promise me you will not do it again, okay?” Allura offers Keith a small smile.

Keith smiles back at her. “I promise.”

“Good then!” She turns to Matt. “We should go inform Slav what happened.”

Matt nods in agreement. “Yeah…can I dish out the punishment to Damien and Bethany? I really want a chance to yell at them! They were picking on my sister too!”

“Matt, please don’t embarrass me,” Pidge begs.

Matt pats her head. “No promises, Pidge.” He winks at her before being dragged away by Allura.

Once the two professors are gone, Hunk turns to Lance and Keith and crosses his arms. “You two really need to be more careful. You can’t afford to get in any more trouble.”

“It was one mistake, Hunk!” Lance exclaims.

Hunk shakes his head. “I’m not talking about that anymore. You two almost started a fight!”

“Pidge played a part in that,” Keith says, crossing his arms.

“Hey! I defended you!” Pidge complains.

“Guys! I’m serious. If we want to figure out more about the Balmera’s Crystal, we can’t be getting detention!” Hunk exclaims. “Lance, since you and Keith have detention, will you lend Pidge and I the cloak tonight so we can look more in the forbidden section of the library? That way we can at least get  _ something _ done.”

Lance sighs. “Fine, fine. You’ll have to get it from me before dinner because I have to go straight to Slav’s after dinner.”

Keith rolls his eyes. “I’m missing Quidditch practice for this stupid detention. Trust me when I say this: it won’t happen again.”

Hunk nods, satisfied. “Alright! Good enough for me! Shall we make our way to class then? You guys wasted most of our break fighting with Damien and Bethany.”

“Not our fault!” Pidge, Lance, and Keith exclaim simultaneously.

Lance looks at Pidge and Keith before bursting out in laughter. Pidge and Keith join in while Hunk sighs and rubs his forehead, clearly annoyed with his friends. They split up once they’re back in the castle, each heading to their own classes. Keith and Pidge head downstairs to Potions with Thace while Lance and Hunk make their way to the greenhouse for Herbology with Coran.

Hopefully Lance will be able to focus…the idea of detention scares him a little.

 

* * *

 

Well, needless to say, Lance couldn’t focus in the rest of his classes. A million different scenarios of what tortures  _ detention _ held constantly played through his mind all day. Sure the teacher he’d be dealing with is Slav, but the thoughts wouldn’t leave him alone.

He couldn’t complain too much though because it could be way worse.

He could be seeing Thace instead.

Lance shudders at the very thought, earning a concerned expression from Keith. “You okay?”

“Yeah! Sorry, it’s kinda cold out here,” Lance replies. It’s not technically a complete lie because it  _ is _ chilly out, but Lance didn’t really want to badmouth the head of Keith’s house…he could be listening…

Keith and Lance arrive at Slav’s hut and walk around back. Neither of them are surprised to see Damien and Bethany there as well. When the two awful Slytherin kids notice Lance and Keith, they glare at them. Lance senses another argument brewing, but the opening of Slav’s backdoor squashes any fight before it could start. Fang runs out and nearly tackles Lance and Keith over. Both boys giggle and pet the large dog.

Slav walks up to Lance and Keith, holding two lanterns and gives them an apologetic expression. “I am very sorry you both are here. I cannot help it, but I blame myself.”

Lance shakes his head no. “It’s fine Slav.”

“Yeah,” Keith agrees. “We were the ones who weren’t careful enough.”

Bethany clears her throat loudly. “Excuse me?! What exactly are we going to be doing? I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to!”

Slav stands up straight and turns to her. “Well, I can name off several realities where you and Damien here did not get detention. For starters, you can try being kinder to your fellow classmates!”

“But Kogane and McClain always pick fights with us!” Damien complains.

Slav shakes his head no. “That is false. There is not one reality where Keith and Lance start any fight with you two!”

“Slav, I hate to agree with Mathesi, but I’d like to get this over with too,” Lance interrupts.

Slav nods. “Very well! Let us make our way into the Forbidden Forest!” He whistles, calling Fang over to him. The four students follow Slav into the forest a little ways until Slav stops walking.

Lance turns to the ground where Fang is sniffing and his eyes widen when he sees some silver liquid on the ground.

“Ah! Excellent find, Fang!” Slav explains when he turns to where Lance is looking. “Do you all see this silver on the ground here? This is unicorn blood. It has a silver color due to the magical properties it possesses - and no I will not tell you what it does. I do not need anyone else getting any ideas. Anyway, someone has been disturbing and harming the animals out here and the headmaster asked me to take a look. I thought this would be an excellent way for you all to spend detention! You will be doing this school a great service!”

Damien raises an eyebrow. “Why would we agree to this?”

“You did not! I am making you do it! Now, I will take Lance and Bethany along. Damien and Keith, you two go with Fang, alright?” He thrusts his extra lantern into Keith’s hands. “If you see anything, just give me a holler! I will hear you!” Slav motions for Lance and Bethany to follow him into the forest while Fang barks at Damien and Keith. Lance and Keith exchange nervous expressions before splitting up.

Lance glances around the forest, taking in the eerie atmosphere. It was a foggy night so Lance can’t see too far ahead or next to him. The trees seemed to be a dark brown, almost black color…all completely bare. The leaves must’ve not grown back in yet from winter…or there never were any to begin with. Then what was the crunching noise that Lance could hear every time he took a step? He glances down and sees various sticks and lots of dead tree leaves. He looks back up at the top of the trees and finally notices the leaves.

Oh.

“Hey Slav? What exactly are we-”

A flash of orange light comes from far to the left of himself, Slav, and Bethany. “NO! STOP IT!” Keith’s voice yells. A flash of red light happens immediately after.

Bethany hides behind Slav. “What’s happening?!”

“Are they in trouble?!” Lance wonders worriedly.

Slav groans and storms over to Damien and Keith with Lance and Bethany following closely behind. Once near the two Slytherin boys, Lance notices them just fighting with each other. Fang sits nearby, just chillin’ and seeming to enjoy watching the two fight.  _ What a cool dog. _

“Enough!” Slav exclaims. “Damien, you are coming with me. Lance, you go with Keith and Fang. I am not dealing with this right now!”

He grabs Damien’s arm and pulls him along back to where Bethany, Lance, and Slav were before. Lance turns to Keith and smirks. “Aww, did you start a fight with him so you’d get to be with me?”

Keith rolls his eyes. “No. Damien was being a jerk and was trying to scare me. The one time  _ I _ got him back, he tried to stun me!”

Lance chuckles and puts his arm around Keith’s shoulders. “It’s okay now. I’m here to protect you from the meanies.”

Keith shoves Lance away playfully and laughs. “Shut up.”

Lance gives Keith a toothy smile before following him deeper into the forest. Fang trails alongside them, occasionally stopping to sniff something out. Eventually Fang stops in his tracks and stares ahead, as if in a trance. Keith and Lance notice and stop walking. “What is it Fang? What do you see?” Lance asks.

Fang barks then whimpers, slowing advancing forward. Keith and Lance watch where he leads them to. Lance’s jaw drops down when he notices the dead white unicorn on the ground. “Oh no!” Lance exclaims as he starts approaching the creature.

“Lance, no!” Keith yells, yanking Lance backwards, causing both boys to fall to the ground.

A cloaked figure floats over to the unicorn and kneels down, beginning to drink the blood from the wound in the creature’s neck. Lance covers his mouth in shock and disgust and grabs Keith’s hand with his free one in fear.

The figure’s head slowly looks up when it hears Lance, eyes glowing purple. Lance’s breath hitches -  _ why are those so familiar? _ It crawls away from the unicorn, showing more interest in the two boys. Once around the unicorn, it begins to float up, arms extending out. Keith and Lance try to retreat back in fear, but Lance’s cloak gets caught on a branch, keeping them in place. Fang barks loudly at the figure, attempting to protect Lance and Keith. The figure growls, sounding like sandpaper being dragged across gravel causing Fang to whimper and run away in fear.

_ Coward. _

Keith wraps his arms around Lance and buries his face in Lance’s chest. Lance holds Keith close to him and squeezes his eyes shut, bracing himself for the figure’s attack.

“ _ EXPECTO PATRONUM! _ ” a voice bellows from behind them.

Lance’s eyes shoot open as a blast of white light shoots above them. He hears a lion roar then sees a white one leap over them, right at the figure.

It backs up in fear as the lion roars at it again. The lion chases the figure away before dissolving into thin air.

Lance looks up and behind him and sees Shiro running over with Slav, Bethany, and Damien. “Lance?!” Slav exclaims.

“Keith!” Shiro shouts.

Keith lifts his head up from Lance’s chest at the sound of his name. “Shiro?” He releases Lance and turns around just in time to be hugged tightly by Shiro. Keith hugs him back and buries his face in the crook of Shiro’s neck.

“Are you two insane?!” Slav grabs Lance’s arm and helps him to his feet. “You could have been killed!” He embraces Lance for a few seconds with his bottom three set of arms before looking back at him. “Several realities show the figure killing you by-” Slav starts.

Keith releases Shiro and turns to Slav with a horrified expression. “Slav,” Shiro scolds, standing up. “That’s enough. Take Damien and Bethany back inside, please. I’ll take care of Lance and Keith.”

Slav nods then ushers Damien and Bethany away. Lance turns back to the dead unicorn, suddenly overcome with sadness.  _ Who could do such a thing? _ His vision becomes blurry as tears start streaming down his cheeks. “Why would someone kill such a beautiful creature?!” Lance cries. “Why would someone ruin something so beautiful?!”

Keith bites his lip and takes Lance’s hand again, but doesn’t cry. Shiro puts a hand on both boys’ shoulders. “Only bad and selfish people kill unicorns.”

“But why?!” Lance sobs. He can’t understand any plausible reason for this to be okay.

“If someone drinks the blood of a unicorn, they’re able to become powerful and live a long, long life,” Shiro explains. “Only corrupt and heartless people could fathom ever killing a peaceful creature like this.”

Lance sobs loudly again then gets pulled into a tight hug by Keith. He rests his head next to Keith’s and continues to cry. Keith rubs his back and holds him very protectively.

“I’m very sorry you both had to see this,” Shiro says after a moment as he walks around so he can look at Lance. “I’m doing my best to figure all of this out.”

Lance sniffles and nods, finally calming down after crying. He loosens his grip on Keith and smiles sadly at Keith before mouthing,  _ thank you _ .

Keith nods then turns to Shiro. “Can we go back into the castle now? I think Pidge and Hunk will be worried about us.”

Shiro nods. “Of course.” He leads them back inside where they find Allura, Pidge, and Hunk waiting for them. Once spotted, Hunk and Pidge rush over to Keith and Lance and hug them tightly.

“We were so worried about you two! Slav came in with Damien and Bethany and when we asked where you two were, Slav told us Shiro was dealing with it!” Pidge exclaims, clinging onto Lance like her life depends on it.

Allura joins them after a few more seconds. “Are you boys alright? What happened?” Allura wonders.

“Allura, I will tell you later, okay? We should give them some space,” Shiro says as he takes her arm and leads her down the hall, out of earshot. Lance can still see them, but he’s certain they won’t be able to hear him and his friends talk.

“What happened?!” Hunk demands. “Why are you crying, Lance?!”

Lance wipes the tears off of his own cheeks before speaking. “Someone killed a unicorn. It made me upset that someone would harm such a gentle and beautiful creature.”

Hunk frowns slightly before pulling Lance in for a tight hug. Hunk always gives the best hugs. Being wrapped inside Hunk’s warm embrace could make anyone feel safe.

Pidge gasps. “ _ What?! _ You saw a dead unicorn?!”

“There was a cloaked figure drinking the unicorn’s blood too,” Keith adds. “It had weird purple eyes.”

Hunk and Pidge look at each other then back at Lance and Keith. “Like a Galra Phantom does? You don’t think-” Hunk starts.

“Impossible! He died when he tried to kill my mother!” Lance exclaims.

“And my parents,” Keith adds solemnly.

“We did the research. He didn’t  _ die _ . He was severely weakened,” Pidge states. “You saw him out there…whether you like it or not, you saw him. He was going to kill the both of you.”

“N-no! He can’t be alive!” Lance exclaims.

Keith clenches his fists and glares at the ground. “Lance, he is back. Pidge and Hunk are right. Those chilling purple eyes…that memory is burned into my brain. I recognized them from when I was a baby, when my parents were killed. I could never forget something like that.”

Lance wanted to deny it. He didn’t want to accept the fact that the wizard who murdered his mother was back, but he had to.

Lord Zarkon is back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tag urself - I'm Keith in the first set of pics lmao because I too would smile like a madman if I punched someone I hated
> 
> Fun fact: Bethany is based off a real person I know and I've been wanting to clock her right in the face since I met her
> 
> Home stretch from here! Only 3 more chapters remain! 14 is probably the most action-packed chapter out of this whole story lol
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!  
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)


	14. The Heist (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the school end comes to a close, so does the inevitable attack of the Dark Lord himself. Tonight's the night Lance and his friends decide to take action and get to the Balmera's Crystal before anyone else can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *SCREAMING*  
> This chapter is probably the longest yet with the most action! I guarantee you won't be disappointed when you read this. I actually had to do research and everything!
> 
> Enjoy!

The month of May rolls around, bringing the ending exams as well. With Pidge’s and Hunk’s relentless urges to actually study, Lance didn’t do too badly…the only one he really struggled with was Coran’s History of Magic exam. Who the heck could remember anything about the  _ Self-Stirring Cauldron _ ?! A better question would be: who the heck cares?! Lance couldn’t even recall who invented it!

It was some dude named Gaspard Shingleton, according to Pidge.

Whatever. Lance didn’t care because he got the highest marks on Thace’s stupid Potions exam! For his exam, he made the students brew a potion from memory - not to mention the jerk made it a Forgetfulness Potion. Lance is positive it was just to screw him over, but Thace’s evil scheme didn’t work! Lance knew exactly what went in a Forgetfulness Potion because he used one on Marco several times… _ probably shouldn’t have said that _ .

Anyway, Allura’s Transfiguration exam and Professor Holt’s Charms exam went okay. He could’ve done better, but he still struggles with the main concepts of both. Keith did help him a lot with Allura’s though. For hers, they had to turn a mouse into a snuff box, and Lance couldn’t get it so it wouldn’t be fuzzy. Allura thought it was still cute and gave him a good grade, but it wasn’t as high as Lance wished for. Keith, on the other hand, did it perfectly. Before Lance would’ve been jealous, but now that he has matured and learned Keith means no harm, he’s proud for his friend.

For Professor Holt’s exam, they had to make a pineapple dance across his desk. Keith asked what made him think of this and he told everyone that it was Matt’s idea - Lance was not surprised one bit. Both Keith and Lance struggled with this, but, with each other’s help, they were able to get passing grades.

Matt’s Astronomy exam was a breeze for Lance - his liking towards the stars and anything to do with space really helped him study. Coran’s Herbology exam was simple too - all it really consisted of was naming specific plants and being able to distinguish the poisonous ones from the safe-to-eat ones. Haxus’s Defense Against the Dark arts exam was a complete joke. Lance is completely sure that not one person flunked that exam because the entire test was just memorizing definitions of different things. He expected something more out of Haxus, but, oh well, Lance ain’t complaining too much because it boosted his overall grade.

Even with the excitement of the exams going well, Lance and Keith still were worried about Zarkon coming to attack the school at any moment. Sometimes, when he daydreams in class, Lance can picture Zarkon bursting through the door and killing everyone. He talked to his friends about his concerns, but Keith was the only one who could understand his fear. Pidge and Hunk tried to console Lance, but, since they don’t have prior experience with dealing with Zarkon, they can’t truly know the fear Lance and Keith have inside.

Keith finally decided that they should go tell Shiro about this because, if the cloaked figure truly was Zarkon, he could come for the Balmera’s Crystal at any given moment. Neither Keith nor Lance wants to risk that so they take Hunk and Pidge with them to go talk to Shiro.

Currently, they’re making their way past Coran’s slightly ajar office door. Voices can be heard from inside. As Lance walks past, he can identify the voices inside. Slav and Coran are talking in there about…about the Crystal!

“…I do not know, Coran. If the figure truly was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, then there is no telling if he will be able to get past Fluffy!” Slav exclaims.

Lance stops in his tracks to listen further.

“Shiro told us that he looked very weak. There’s no way he’ll be able to get passed!” Coran exclaims.

“Fighting, yes, but if he plays a simple song for Fluffy, he will fall right asleep! Then he can just go right in and snatch the Crystal!” Slav exclaims, clearly distressed.

“Slav, there are plenty of things guarding the Crystal. You don’t need to worry,” Coran reassures Slav.

Lance runs up to his friends and pulls Pidge’s and Keith’s arms to stop them. “Guys! Wait!”

“What? What’s wrong?” Keith wonders.

“I just heard Slav and Coran talking. Slav thinks You-Know-Who is going to try to steal the Crystal,” Lance shares. “Coran says he’s too weak to be able to do anything.”

“Then does that mean someone’s gonna steal it for You-Know-Who?” Pidge asks.

Hunk’s eyes widen. “Thace! It has to be him!”

“But he has a trap set up in there,” Keith says.

“Yes, but he knows how to get past that. Not to mention he probably knows how to get past all the other traps set up! He’s the perfect guy to do the job!” Lance exclaims.

“We have to hurry and tell Shiro all of this right now then,” Pidge says. “It’s almost dinner time. Hunk and I weren’t given a lot of time after our Charms exam like you two were after Defense Against the Dark Arts!”

Lance, Keith, and Hunk nod at Pidge and they quickly run to where Shiro’s office is. Keith is just about to say the password to get the staircase to show itself, but Allura interrupts them. “What are you four doing? Why are you not taking your exams?” she wonders.

“We finished early - where’s Shiro?” Keith asks, getting right to the point.

“Shiro is not here,” Allura replies. “He was called to London for an emergency meeting with the Ministry. He should be back here tomorrow. Did you need something?”

Keith turns to his friends, probably wondering if they think he should tell Allura. Lance shakes his head no, hoping to get across to Keith that he shouldn’t tell Allura.

He nods slightly and turns back to Allura. “Uh, no. It’s not very important. We can talk to him tomorrow about it. Thanks anyway! We’ll see you at dinner!” Keith waves to her, then starts walking away from her.

Lance, Hunk, and Pidge follow him and wave goodbye to Allura too. She smiles and waves at them before entering Shiro’s office herself. Once Allura has gone up the stairs, Hunk stops and turns to his friends. “Guys, what are we going to do?” he wonders.

“Well, we can’t just sit here knowing the Crystal is going to be taken tonight,” Pidge comments.

“Then we go get the Crystal tonight,” Lance decides firmly. “If the teachers aren’t gonna do anything about it, then we will.”

Keith smiles at Lance and nods in agreement. “Let’s do it!”

Hunk sighs. “We’re probably gonna die.”

Pidge slaps his arm lightly. “Hunk, don’t be so negative.” She turns to Lance and Keith. “We’ll meet on the third floor after dinner where you two said the door was located, alright?”

Keith and Lance nod at her before turning to Hunk. “You gonna come too?” Lance asks him.

Hunk sighs and bows his head. “Fine…I’ll go, but I’m gonna complain the whole time.”

Lance chuckles. “That’s the spirit buddy!”

As the four make their way to the Great Hall for dinner, Lance thinks to himself,  _ What if we don’t stop Thace? What if Zarkon really does come back and - no…I can’t think like that. _ Lance brushes those thoughts aside.

They had to succeed.

If they didn’t…the entire world is doomed.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, Lance runs to the Gryffindor common room to grab his invisibility cloak out of his trunk. Paul tries to stop to ask questions, but Lance brushes him off, saying he’ll fill him in later.

Usually Marco would butt in and ask where Lance heads off to, but he isn't in here right now.

Odd.

Lance hurries down the boys’ dormitory stairs and out of the Gryffindor common room. He skids to a stop in his tracks when he sees Marco talking with Pidge, Hunk, and Keith.

Oh. No wonder why Lance didn't see him in the dorms.

_ BECAUSE THE STUPID PRICK WAS OUT HERE THE WHOLE TIME BUGGING HIS FRIENDS! _

Oh boy! Lance has a few choice words for him!

Once Marco sees him, he narrows his eyes. “I’m not letting you guys do whatever it is you’re doing. You’ve gotten in trouble one too many times and I won’t stand for it!” Marco exclaims.

Lance narrows his eyes at Marco. “Marco, don’t get involved. This is bigger than you think.”

“Lance, you have to listen to me. I’m your older brother and I say no,” Marco says defiantly.

Lance sighs. “I didn’t want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice.” He pulls out his wand and aims it at Marco. “Petrificus Totalus!”

A blast of silver light comes from Lance’s wand and surrounds Marco, forcing him to stand up straight and his arms to go to his sides. He slowly falls backwards before landing on the ground, paralyzed.

“Whoa,” Keith says, awed. “I didn’t know you had the guts to do that.”

“Marco’s a jerk. He had it coming long ago - also, rude,” Lance replies, glaring at Keith while putting his wand away. “Now, you and Hunk help me drag him back into the Gryffindor common room. Pidge, you keep watch for any teachers.” He hands her the invisibility cloak.

“What about the paintings? Won’t they rat us out?” Hunk wonders.

Lance turns to the portrait of the fat lady, looking at her with a pleading expression. She simply chuckles and says, “I won’t say a word. That boy always irritates me and makes fun of my singing! Just hurry and put him inside.”

Keith, Hunk, and Lance lift Marco up and make their way inside the common room, carefully setting Marco down on the couch before rejoining Pidge. Lance puts the cloak over the four of them then they quietly make their way to the third floor.

They walk towards the right from the fat lady’s portrait over to the staircases and up the stairs that will lead them to the forbidden corridor. They start walking towards the large door Keith and Lance found when they decided to duel each other back before Halloween.

“Ow!” Pidge exclaims in a whisper. “Hunk! You stepped on my foot!”

“Sorry,” Hunk apologizes sheepishly.

They slowly approach the door and the lantern next to it suddenly engulfs in flames, sensing a presence nearby. Keith and Lance exchange a nervous expression before Keith pulls out his wand and aims it at the door knob.

Keith takes a deep breath before saying, “Alohomora.”

The door slowly creaks opens, allowing the four to sneak in under the cloak before quietly closing behind them. A silent click of a lock sounds from the door, signaling that they’re locked in the room. 

Overall, nothing has changed much since Lance ventured here last with Keith. It’s still cold and dark, but now, instead of only the loud snores of Fluffy, a light, gentle tune of a harp echoes throughout the room. Fluffy still has the blue collar around his middle head’s neck and is chained to the wall. His light brown fur glows slightly in the moonlight that peeps through the thin windows in the room.

Lance bets Fluffy is nice to Slav, but how can he play with this thing? He'd need a huge slingshot to play fetch with him!

Oh well, Lance would have to ask Slav later if he made it out of this alive.

Which he would…

Hopefully…

Hunk narrows his eyes at the three-headed dog. “Wait a minute, he’s-”

Fluffy’s center head takes a deep breath and exhales, causing a gust of air to blow the cloak off of Lance and his friends.

“Snoring,” Lance finishes for him.

Keith looks around the room and approaches the harp. “Thace has already been here. It looks like he put a spell on the harp so it’d play by itself.”

He turns and slowly starts to approach Fluffy while Hunk, Pidge, and Lance hurry to catch up with him. Pidge gags and coughs once she gets whiff of Fluffy’s horrible dog breath. “Bleh! Start holding your breath! Fluffy’s breath stinks!”

Lance begins looking around for the trap door, but sighs when he finds it underneath one of Fluffy’s large black paws. He elbows Keith and gestures to the paw.

“Are you serious?” Keith sighs. “We have to move his paw.”

“What?!” Hunk demands.

“Come on! Help us with this!” Lance exclaims as he grabs one part of Fluffy’s paw.

Keith, Pidge, and Hunk join him and grab the other sides. “Alright, push on three. One…two…three!” Lance exclaims. Together, all four of them manage to push the paw off the trapdoor.

Lance grunts, suddenly aware of how heavy this thing is. It feels like he's pushing a bag of boulders across the room - except these boulders have sharp claws and are connected to a dog that probably wouldn't hesitate to eat them alive.

The claws on the paw scrape against the wood, sounding like leaves being squished together or like the kernels of popcorn breaking open and hitting the bag.

One of the heads suddenly grunts and shifts. Lance freezes and turns to look at it, silently hoping it doesn’t wake up. Once deemed safe, Pidge reaches down and opens up the trapdoor before kneeling to peer inside. Hunk, Keith, and Lance join her on the ground and look down as well. Lance tries to see deeper into the hole, but it’s too dark too see anything.

Keith looks up at his friends then says, “Okay, I’ll go first…don’t follow until I give you a sign, alright? If something bad happens, get yourselves out, alright?”

“What? Keith, no! We’re not gonna abandon - wait, does it seem quieter to you guys?” Lance wonders, suddenly noticing the harp stopped playing.

“Yeah, it does,” Pidge agrees.

They look around and Lance sees a glob of slobber fall on Hunk’s shoulder. “Ew! Yuck!” he exclaims.

Realizing what this means, Lance and his friends slowly look up and see Fluffy’s three heads staring and growling down at them. The middle head barks loudly before grabbing the trapdoor with its teeth, ripping it off its hinges. Pieces of wood fly at Lance and his friends. Fluffy launches the trapdoor through the air towards the wall and, once it makes contact, it smashes into a million pieces.

Lance screams as the left head goes to bite him, but Keith grabs his hand and yanks him down the hole before the head can get him. Pidge hops in after Keith and Lance, and Hunk dives in, narrowly missing the chomp of the right head.

Keith and Lance eventually land in some sort of black, slightly moist plant just before Pidge and Hunk join them. Hunk sighs in relief. “Whew! I nearly got eaten by one of those heads! Luckily this plant was here to break our fall!”

Hunk starts moving around, attempting to stand. Lance’s eyes widen as the plant begins to move and ensnare them by wrapping vines around their limbs. Getting a closer look, Lance sees that the plant is more of a dark green versus being black. Little thorns scratch his skin as the vines tangle themselves tighter around him.

Keith grunts as his legs are tied together and his arms are pinned down. He struggles some more before letting out a yelp when one wraps around his neck.

“Keith!” Lance exclaims as he starts thrashing around, trying to reach Keith. Vines begin surrounding his arms and legs, preventing him from moving.

“We’re gonna die!” Hunk exclaims.

“Guys, stop moving! This is Devil’s Snare! You have to relax!” Pidge exclaims. “If you don’t, it’ll only kill you faster!”

“KILL US FASTER?!” Lance questions loudly. “WELL, NOW I CAN RELAX!”

Pidge glares at Lance before slowly sliding down further into the plant, eventually disappearing entirely.

“PIDGE!” Hunk, Lance, and Keith yell simultaneously.

“Now what are we gonna do?!” Hunk wonders.

“Just relax!” Pidge’s voice sounds throughout the room.

Lance frantically looks around, wondering where her voice came from. “Pidge?! Where are you?!”

“Do what I said! Trust me!” she exclaims.

An expression of realization flashes across Hunk’s face. “Oh! Duh!” He closes his eyes and stops thrashing around. Soon enough, he starts sinking through the plant and disappears too.

Lance screams. “HUNK!” He turns to Keith. “NOW WHAT?!”

Keith struggles some more against the plant before shutting his eyes tightly. He clenches his fists and stops moving around. The vines start pulling Keith down and he disappears too.

“Keith! NO!” Lance yells. “HELP! SOMEONE HELP!” He continues to thrash around in the vines, not caring that they’re beginning to get tighter around him. “HELP ME! HE-”

Vines surround his neck and mouth, preventing him from yelling anymore. He makes noises of protests and continues to move around.

Suddenly, a burst of bright light surrounds him and the vines start retracting as if repulsed by the light. Lance starts screaming again once he begins to fall. He lands on the ground with a loud thud.

Keith runs over and kneels next to him. “Lance? Are you okay?” He extends his hand down to help him up.

Lance nods and accepts Keith’s hand, allowing Keith to pull him to his feet. “Well! That was exhilarating! Luckily we didn’t panic!”

Keith glares at Lance and crosses his arms. “Luckily Pidge pays attention in Herbology. She sent the light to free you.”

Pidge nods. “Devil’s Snare hates sunlight.”

The room below the plant isn't that big. The floor is a little slippery from the plant and is littered with dead leaves. The walls have moss covering them, probably because of the plant, but Lance doesn't know for sure.

Coran tends to ramble a lot.

Lance simply shrugs at Pidge, getting bored of the icky room they're currently in before directing his attention to the next room. Odd fluttering noises sound from where Lance and his friends are standing. “Whoa, what’s that noise?”

Pidge turns her gaze to where Lance is looking. “I don’t know, but I hear it too. It sounds like somethings flying around in there.”

The four exchange questioning expressions before making their way to the other room. Once inside, they see strange gold objects with wings flying around the room. “Wow, I’ve never seen birds like these,” Pidge comments.

“They’re not birds,” Keith says, looking closer at one of them when it flies past them. “They’re keys!” He turns his attention to across the room and sees a large brown door with an old, rusty lock on it. “I bet one of them opens that door.”

Hunk makes his way to the center of the room where a floating broom is and stares at it. “What’s this all about?”

Keith, Lance, and Pidge walk up and join him. Pidge turns to Hunk and says, “I don’t know.”

Lance looks back at the door and begins walking up to it. With a determined expression on his face, he pulls his wand out and aims it at the door. Pidge notices and immediately follows Lance up to the door. Keith and Hunk stay back by the broom.

“ALOHOMORA!” Lance exclaims, shooting a burst of magic at the lock on the door. He grabs it and jiggles it, attempting to open the door. He sighs then turns to the others. “Well, it was worth a try.”

“Ugh! What are we gonna do now? There must be a thousand keys up there!” Pidge exclaims.

Hunk scratches his chin and looks at the lock. “Well, it’s probably old fashioned and rusty like the lock on the door.”

Keith suddenly points up at the flying keys. “There! I see it!”

Lance follows where Keith is pointing and sees a large, brown, rusty Keith with a broken wing flying around amongst the newer, but smaller looking ones.

“It has a broken wing!” Keith adds.

He furrows his eyebrows and looks back at the broom, deep in thought. “Keith, what’s wrong?” Hunk wonders.

“It-it’s too simple,” Keith replies.

“Oh come on, Keith! If Thace could catch it on that old broomstick, then you can! You’re the youngest Seeker of the century!” Lance exclaims, trying to inspire Keith.

Keith smiles and nods at Lance before looking back at the broom. He takes a deep breath then slowly grabs the handle of the broomstick. Once Keith’s hand makes contact with the wood of the stick, the decoy keys begin to fly faster and start to circle around Keith, trying to attack him.

Keith swats at them, trying to shoo them away, but they continue to attack. Hunk cringes slightly then says, “This complicates things a bit!”

Still waving one of his hands at the keys, Keith mounts the broom and begins to fly up. He starts slow at first, clearly distracted by the decoy keys until he catches sight of the real key. His eyes light up and he smirks, speeding after the real key, decoy keys forgotten.

He zigzags through the boards and beams, steadily getting closer to the real key. A few of the decoy keys fly at Keith, kind of like a Bludger. He easily dodges the attack, ducking down so the keys smash into the wall. Keith turns back and smirks at the broken keys stuck in the wall.

“GO Keith!” Lance exclaims. “YOU GOT THIS!”

Keith circles around one of the large columns one last time before snatching the real key out of the air. He flies towards the ground and throws it to Lance. “That’s the key!” he exclaims before turning away, trying to out-fly the decoy keys.

Lance jumps up and grabs the real key out of the air before it can fly away again. He hurries over to the door and fumbles to put it in the keyhole.

“Hurry up!” Pidge exclaims. “I don’t know how much longer Keith can avoid those other keys!”

Lance looks back and sees Keith still trying to avoid the decoy keys. His excellent Seeker skills are keeping him alive, but Lance doesn’t know if it’ll be enough much longer. He turns back to the door and the key finally goes in the keyhole.

Hunk and Pidge help Lance push open the door and hurry into the next room, holding the door open for Keith. They watch as Keith circles around one last time before flying straight through the doorway. Lance, Pidge, and Hunk quickly shut the door just as the decoy keys fly into the door, getting lodged in the wood.

Lance sighs and rests his head against the door. “That was too close.” He turns around and watches Keith as he slowly lowers himself to the ground and dismounts the broom.

“I’ll say…try being the one being chased by those killer keys!” Keith exclaims.

Hunk chuckles. “At least that’s - OH NO! TROLL!” He screams and points behind Keith.

Lance leans forward to get a closer look, and sure enough a giant troll lies behind Keith, but it isn’t moving. “Hunk…I hate to burst your bubble, but…”

“It’s not moving,” Pidge finishes for Lance. “It might even be dead.”

Keith whirls around and stumbles backwards, falling on his butt when he realizes how close to the troll he is. “Did I ever tell you guys that I realized I have a fear of trolls?”

Lance walks over to Keith and helps him to his feet. “We kind of guessed after the whole bathroom incident.” He squeezes Keith’s hand. “Don’t worry, Thace did all the heavy lifting for us! We can just walk to the next room!”

“Let’s hope there’s nothing too bad in there,” Pidge comments as she grabs Hunk’s arm, leading him to follow Lance and Keith.

Lance and Keith lead Pidge and Hunk into the next room. It takes Lance’s eyes a second to adjust to the dimly lit room. He finally notices several large statues in front of him on an elevated floor. They appear to be facing away from him.

“What’s in here?” Pidge asks, voice echoing slightly throughout the room.

Hunk lightly brushes past Lance and Keith and steps on top of the elevated floor between the two tallest statues. He makes his way to the center of the floor and glances around. “It’s a chess board,” Hunk concludes.

Suddenly, as if on cue, the rest of the torches around the room ignite in flames, roaring to life. Lance blinks a couple times and gets a better look at the statues, which aren’t just any statues: they’re giant chess pieces. His eyes widen as he looks closer at one of the pieces closest to him. Lance concludes this piece to be the Black King. He stands up taller than the rest with his hands resting on the hilt of his sword. He stares straight ahead, directly at the White King across from him. Lance looks down the rest of the row and notices a few pieces missing. One of the Black Rooks on the far end, away from the Black King, both Black Bishops, and the rider for the Black Knight closest to the Black King is gone.

Lance follows Pidge and Keith out to where Hunk is after they finish admiring the chess pieces. As he’s walking to the center, Lance spots the door on the other side of the white pieces. “Look! There’s the door!” he exclaims

The four of them start walking towards it, eager to leave the room. Once they reach the line of White Pawns, they spark to life and pull their swords out, blocking the path to the door. Lance’s eyes widen in fear and he slowly starts backing away from them. Hunk, Pidge, and Keith follow Lance’s lead and back away too. Once far enough away, the White Pawns put their swords away and return to their starting poses.

Pidge sighs and crosses her arms. “Now what do we do?”

Hunk steps out and turns to face his friends. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? We’re gonna play our way across the room! Alright, I saw some pieces missing so we’re gonna have to fill them up ourselves. Pidge, you take the empty Bishop space on the white square. Keith, you take the other Bishop space on the black square. Lance, you’ll be the Queen side castle.”

“What about you, Hunk?” Lance wonders.

Hunk takes a deep breath and looks up at the Black Knight that is missing a rider. “I’ll be a knight.”

Lance nods before walking towards the empty Black Rook space. He steps inside the square and faces forward towards the opposing pieces. He looks to his left and sees Pidge on the other side of the Black Knight Lance is next to and Keith and Hunk next to each other on the far side of the Black King.

“What happens now?” Keith asks, looking up at Hunk.

Hunk looks down at Keith. “Well, white moves first, then: we play.”

The game begins when they hear one of the white pieces moving. Lance turns and sees the White Pawn directly in front of the White King moving. It stops once it has moved up two spaces. Hunk bites his lip and glances around the board, trying to figure out what to do next.

“Hunk, you don’t suppose this is going to be like real wizard’s chess, do you?” Pidge asks, clearly worried.

Hunk looks at her then turns to one of the Black Pawns. “You there!” Hunk points. “Pawn to D-five!”

Lance watches in fear as the Black Pawn in front of the Black Queen moves forward two spaces, following Hunk’s orders. It stops once it is diagonally one space away from the White Pawn that moved before it. The White Pawn slowly stands up, pulling out its swords and takes a slash at the Black Pawn, smashing it to pieces. A gust of wind blows back on Lance and the others once the White Pawn knocks the base of the Black Pawn off the board, taking its square.

Hunk slowly turns to Pidge. “Yes, Pidge, I think this is gonna be  _ exactly _ like wizard’s chess.”

Keith turns to Lance and they exchange shocked expressions before looking back to Hunk. “Are we gonna die?!” Keith demands.

“No, I won’t let that happen. Just trust me guys, okay? I’ll get us through this game,” Hunk reassures him.

Pidge nods. “If anyone can win this…it’s Hunk. We’ll follow your directions, just call it.”

“Black Queen to D-eight!” Hunk exclaims.

Pidge and Lance watch in awe as she moves forward to the White Pawn, taking out her sword to stab it, causing it to crumble to the ground. She swipes the base of the defeated pawn off of the board before taking her spot on the board.

Lance turns as one of the White Pawns in front of the White Knight on the opposite side of the board of him moves forward two spaces. He turns to Hunk to see what he’ll do. “Pawn to F-six,” Hunk orders.

The Black Pawn directly in front of Keith moves forward one square, ready to capture the White Pawn if it moves forward. The White Knight across from Hunk moves in an odd L-shape so it’s now in Keith’s column. Hunk could have the Black Queen take that piece if he wanted to, but then the White Queen would immediately take the Black Queen afterwards. Personally, Lance doesn’t think sacrificing the Queen for a Knight would be worth it.

Hunk groans and rolls his eyes. “This board insults me greatly, but we’ll see how it handles THIS! Knight to H-six.”

Lance’s eyes widen as Hunk’s horse starts to move. “Whoa, Hunk! What are you doing?!”

“Lance, he’s gonna try to take out that pawn the Queen can’t reach. I mean he could have me do it, but I don’t think it’d be a smart choice,” Pidge explains. “Bishops are more valuable pieces, plus Hunk can get out of a sticky situation better than I can.”

“Can I move yet?!” Keith complains.

“Shush! I don’t wanna use you guys unless I have to!” Hunk exclaims as the other White Knight moves forward two and left one, ready to take out the Black Queen.

“Hunk! The Queen!” Pidge yells.

Hunk turns and sees that the Black Queen can be captured by the White Knight. “On it! Queen to D-eight!”

Lance sighs in relief as the Black Queen retreats back to her starting square between Pidge and the Black King.

“Good call, Pidge!” Hunk exclaims.

“You got it!” Pidge replies as the White Knight closest to Hunk moves up one space and left two so it’s one space away from Hunk.

Hunk smirks. “Knight to G-four!” He moves to the right one space and moves forward two, causing the pawn to collapse in pieces on the board. The horse Hunk is on kicks the base off the board.

“Yeah! Nice one Hunk!” Lance cheers.

“Wow, we already took two of their pieces!” Keith exclaims, surprised.

“I told you guys Hunk could do it,” Pidge comments, smugly.

“We still have a long ways to go,” Hunk reminds them.

Keith leans forward and gasps. “Hunk! The White Queen can take you now!”

Pidge scoffs. “Uh, not if she wants me to take her immediately after!”

Keith huffs and crosses his arms. “Well, sorry for being concerned!”

“Thanks for worrying, but I got this,” Hunk replies.

The game continues on, Hunk shouting orders left and right. Pieces of the chess statues litter the board. The piles of broken pieces on the sides of the board have risen so they're taller than Lance himself! Hunk has managed to have the black pieces capture almost all of the White Pawns and take both White Bishops. Keith happily destroyed one of them while Lance took the other.

The most tragic moment of the game was the defeat of the Black Queen. The Black King was put in a devastating check, being cut off by one of the White Knights, a White Rook, and a White Pawn. The only way to protect the White King was to either have Lance slide in front of the White Rook or have the Black Queen do it. Hunk didn't want Lance to die so he chose the Black Queen to sacrifice herself. This opened up the path for Pidge to take out the White Pawn while also being in line to take out the White Rook. The White pieces didn't risk losing its Rook so it retreated instead of attacking the Black King again.

Without the Black Queen, Hunk had some troubles maneuvering the pieces to capture the White King, but with Pidge’s help and Keith’s and Lance’s added eyes, Hunk was able to get them this far.

Currently, Lance and Pidge have the White King in a pretty nasty predicament. Any move he tries to make will result in either one of them being able to take him out. The White Queen moves forward to the D3 space and smashes one of the Black Pawns to pieces.

“Hunk! The Queen’s gonna get Keith! Do something!” Lance exclaims.

“This Rook is in the spot Keith can move to if he wants to check the King,” Pidge shares.

“Right, Rook to C-three!” Hunk exclaims.

The Rook moves down to block the White Queen’s path to Keith while also opening up Keith’s path to checkmate the White King.

The White Queen slowly turns to the Black Rook, pulls her sword out, and pierces its side. Keith ducks as chunks of the Black Rook come flying back at him. Once the smoke clears, he looks up in terror at the White Queen staring down at him with her stone-cold face before facing forwards once again.

“Keith! No!” Lance yells from across the board. Hunk couldn’t let the dumb White Queen kill Keith! Lance wouldn’t stand for it!

Keith furrows his eyebrows and looks across the board once again. “Wait a minute…”

“You understand, right Keith? Once I make my move, the Queen will take me, then you’re free to check the King,” Hunk says.

“No! Hunk, no!” Keith protests.

“What is it?!” Lance demands from his position on the board. He can’t see a whole lot with one of the White Rooks diagonally blocking his view.

Pidge turns to Lance and says, “He’s gonna sacrifice himself.”

Lance gasps. “No, you can’t! There must be another way!”

Hunk turns and narrows his eyes at Lance. “Do you wanna stop Thace from getting that Crystal or not?” He sighs and looks between Keith and Lance. “Keith, Lance, it’s you two that have to go on…not me, not Pidge, you two.”

Keith and Lance exchange knowing expressions before turning back to Hunk and nodding solemnly. “Okay Hunk, do what you gotta do,” Keith responds glumly.

Hunk grips the stone reigns on his horse and takes a deep breath. “Knight to H-three.”

Hunk grimaces as his horse begins moving forward two spaces and left one, checking the White King. Lance bites his lip and crosses his arms. Does it really have to end like this?

“Check,” Hunk says with a shaky voice.

Lance’s head snaps towards the White Queen when he hears her start to move. She slowly turns away from Keith and makes her way towards Hunk. Once she reaches him, she pulls out her sword and stabs the horse’s side, causing Hunk to scream and fall off. He lands on the ground and hits his head, going unconscious. The horse’s broken body falls off the board, into the rest of the debris of pieces destroyed before.

“HUNK!” Keith screams.

Lance’s eyes widen and he starts moving towards Hunk to check if he’s okay.

“No! Don’t move!” Pidge yells at Lance before he can step off his square. “Don’t forget, we’re still playing!”

Lance nods. “Right, sorry.”

Pidge turns back to Keith. “Keith, move right here to C-five to check the King.”

Keith nods and begins to walk to the square in front of Pidge. He turns to face where the White King is. “Check.”

The White Queen moves to block Keith’s path from her King, but Keith steps forward to take her out too, doing so with a glare that Lance almost thought would set the White Queen on fire. She falls to the ground in a puff of dust and smoke. Lance covers his eyes when the broken pieces hit the floor and shatter, causing a gust of wind to blow back at him and Pidge.

Once the debris clears and Keith can see in front of himself again, he glares at the White King. “Checkmate.”

The White King’s sword falls from his hands to the ground in front of Keith.

He reaches up to remove his crown and tosses it at Keith’s feet. It skitters across the floor, only coming to a halt when Keith stops it with his foot.

The White King crumples to the ground, defeated. His pieces shatter when they hit the floor, but no gust of wind comes like when his Queen fell.

Lance and Pidge rush over to Keith and hug him tightly. “I don't know what I would’ve done if that stupid Queen took you,” Lance says, burying his face in Keith’s neck.

“She was a bully!” Pidge exclaims, voice muffled in Keith's chest.

Keith chuckles. “I could've taken her. The rules of chess don't apply when someone threatens me or my friends! Besides, I got to take her out anyway to avenge Hunk.”

“Speaking of Hunk, I'll stick back and tend to him. You two move on ahead,” Pidge states. “I believe in you two.” She gives Lance and Keith one more hug each before hurrying over to Hunk’s unconscious body.

Lance turns to Keith and offers a small smile. “You ready?” He offers his hand to Keith.

Keith smirks and clasps his hand on Lance’s. “Always. Let's go get that Crystal!”

Lance’s smile widens as he leads Keith through the door. With Keith at his side, Lance felt he could accomplish anything.

After all, they do make a good team.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for that cliffhanger, but the one I had planned for first was way worse than that so be grateful lol. Two more chapters after this and they're both already written (well, I'm halfway done with 16)
> 
> Also, don't worry about that drawing of Lance. I have already sent a sniper to take out my friend who drew it...Lance doesn't deserve the suffering she showed him going through :'(
> 
> This has been fun to write and thank you everyone who has stuck around this far! Homestretch from here!
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!  
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)


	15. The Heist (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After sneaking past Fluffy, slipping through the Devil's Snare, catching the key, walking past the unconscious (probably dead) troll, and defeating the White King in chess...Lance and Keith approach a different kind of enemy - a battle of wits. Without Pidge at their side, will they be able to do it? Hopefully...the Sorting Hat DID say it wanted to sort Lance into Ravenclaw...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a good 30 mins to post this bc AO3 had an issue with editing chapters and any quotation mark or apostrophe was replaced with some weird symbols so I had to manually change every single one back to normal NOT TO MENTION A BUNCH OF QUESTION MARKS APPEARED WHEN I WENT TO PREVIEW IT UGHHHH
> 
> It was utter hell
> 
> On that sour note...enjoy!

Lance leads Keith through the large door out of the chess room. A large black chasm separates the doorway from the rest of the room. Lance furrows his eyebrows slightly at it before kneeling to look at it. Keith follows since their hands are still together.

“Lance?” Keith asks. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to figure out why this black ravine is along the floor here. It’s not even that deep,” Lance comments. “Why would it be here?”

Keith shrugs. “I don’t know, but I think it’s thin enough for us to jump over.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Lance says, standing back up with Keith. Lance releases Keith’s hand before jumping over the chasm. Through the darkness of the room, Lance can make out an outline of a table with seven objects sitting on it.

Curious, he takes a step forward to get a closer look, but suddenly a burst of purple light erupts from behind him. Lance turns around to see Keith backing away from large purple flames that sprung up in the doorway.

Lance whips back around and, now that the room is illuminated by fire, looks at the table. Seven bottles of liquid line across the dark grey table. He glances up from the table and sees large black flames blocking their path to the doorway out of the room.

He and Keith are trapped.

Lance shakes off the urge to scream and hurries over to the table in the center of the room to get a better look at the bottles. Starting from the left, Lance picks up the medium sized pink bottle. To him, it looks like an upside-down diamond with a cork sticking out of the bottom of the diamond. He swishes around the liquid inside before setting it back down. The next one is a tall green bottle with four round ridges and a cork in the top. It’s twice the size of the pink one. The blue bottle after that is shaped like a box and is barely the size of one of the green bottle’s ridges. The little cork sticking out of the top is adorable!

The center purple bottle has two slants coming down from where the cork is then turns into a regular box at the bottom. It’s about the same size as the pink bottle. The third bottle from the right is the same size as the purple bottle, but, instead, is yellow and is shaped like a heart.  _ Hunk would find this cute _ , Lance thinks to himself. The orange bottle after the heart one looks simply like a square being balanced on one of its corners with a cork sticking out of the opposite corner while also being the same size as the one before it.

Lance turns and watches Keith carefully pick up the final bottle on the far right. He concludes that it’s the same size as the three that are in line before it, but the only differences are that it’s red and shaped like a sphere (with a flat bottom of course…it wouldn’t be able to stand otherwise).

Keith sets it down and turns to Lance. “What the heck are we supposed to do with these?”

“Uh, I don’t - oh! There’s a paper!” Lance exclaims as he snatches the parchment off the table to read. Keith steps next to him and peers over his shoulder. “Oooh, it’s a logic puzzle.”

Keith rolls his eyes and steps back to where he was. “Seems fitting for Thace.” He crosses his arms. “Read what it says.”

Lance clears his throat before reading. “ _ Danger lies before, while safety lies behind. Two of us will assist you, whichever you should find. One among us seven will let you move ahead, another will transport the drinker back instead. Two among us only nettle wine, three of us are killers, hidden in line- _ ”

“Well, we’re gonna die,” Keith interrupts.

“Keith, don’t be so negative, okay? Let me finish reading, then you can complain,” Lance replies. “ _ To help you in your choice, we give you these four clues: first, however slyly the poison tries to hide, you will always find some on nettle wine’s left side- _ ”

“I don’t know what any of this means!” Keith exclaims, clearly getting frustrated. “Is the poison in the left bottles?”

“No, this means wherever there is a bottle of wine, a bottle of poison is directly left of that, but we wouldn’t know where the third bottle of poison would be since only two of these are wine,” Lance explains.

“So, this immediately rules out the red bottle being wine,” Keith concludes. “It could kill us, let us go back, or let us go forward. Great…this is dumb.”

“I know, but shush,” Lance scolds. “ _ Second, different are those who stand at either end, but if you wish to move onwards, neither is your friend _ \- okay so the two at the end can’t both be poison or wine.”

“Or the way out of this stupid room,” Keith adds, still bitter.

“Well, obviously since it says it’s not our friend. Anyway -  _ third, as you see clearly all are different in color, but not all in size. Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides _ ,” Lance continues.

“So, the green and blue ones are safe to drink!” Keith exclaims with a smile.

“But they could have wine,” Lance adds.

Keith’s smile disappears as quickly as it came. “Oh, good point.”

Lance chuckles before reading the rest of the paper. “ _ Fourth, the second left and the second on the right may not be twins in appearance, but they are twins in contents once you taste them _ .” Lance sets the paper down. “So, the two that are one in from each side have the same thing which means it can’t be the way forward or the way back.”

“But that still leaves for the possibility for poison or wine! UGH!” Keith yells, irritated. “This is so dumb! Why would Thace make this so hard when he was just gonna steal the Crystal himself?!”

“Keith, focus. What you just said is wrong,” Lance says.

“How?” Keith wonders.

“Look at the size of the second bottle and go back to the third clue:  _ neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides _ ,” Lance recites. “Since the largest bottle is second from the left, that means bottles two and six have to be wine!” He moves them slightly behind the other bottles.

“Okay, well, that still leaves us with five to choose from - three of which will kill us!” Keith exclaims.

“You’re wrong again! Weren’t you paying attention?” Lance wonders. “Tell me the first clue again.”

Keith rolls his eyes and looks at the paper. “ _ First, however slyly the poison tries to hide, you will always find some on nettle wine’s left side _ .” He looks back up at Lance. “What does that - oh…” Keith reaches out and slides the pink and yellow bottles back in line with the green and orange ones. “Good catch, Lance.”

“Thank you. Now, one of these has poison and the other two get us through the two fires.” Lance furrows his eyebrows. “This blue one is safe because it’s the smallest so we know it doesn’t contain poison and the two wines are already pointed out.” Lance slides it forward and looks between the purple and the red. “Okay, I can safely say this blue one is our ticket through the black fire.”

“Why?” Keith asks.

“Because it's not the poison. The red one can't be our way through the black fire because it's not our friend, judging by the second clue.” Lance’s eyes widen in realization.

He figured it out.

He cracked Thace’s riddle!

“Red is the way back through the purple fire and purple is the final poison! Red can't be the poison since the pink one already is! The second clue also said they were different!” Lance exclaims as he slides the purple bottle back.

Keith smiles and hugs Lance tightly. “I never would've figured that out. Lance, that was brilliant.” He pulls back a little to look Lance in the eyes. “Are you sure you aren't a Ravenclaw?”

Lance giggles. “The hat said the same thing! Now we should drink then hurry to the next room. Who knows what we’re up against!”

“Well, I remember Coran saying which teachers put something. Slav had Fluffy, Coran had the Devil’s Snare…” Keith lists.

“Professor Holt had the keys, Haxus had the trolls…” Lance continues.

“Allura had the chess board and now Thace has this potions riddle,” Keith finishes. “What did Shiro pick?”

Lance shrugs. “There's only one way to find out!” He picks up the blue bottle and takes a sip. His gag reflex kicks in as he tries to swallow. “Bleh!” Lance manages to get it down, but coughs in the process. “Yuck!”

Keith takes the bottle from Lance’s hand and takes a sip himself. He grimaces before setting it back on the table. “Ew, that was gross.”

“We can probably walk through the fire now…hopefully,” Lance says unsurely.

“I thought you said you knew what was what!” Keith exclaims.

“I do! I did say that! I just don’t trust Thace…I’ll go first and if you hear me screaming - well - actually then you’d be trapped in this room so never mind!” Lance exclaims as he walks in front of the black fire. He takes a deep breath before taking a step into the fire.

Lance shuts his eyes tightly, expecting to be set on fire, but he only feels slightly warmer. He opens his eyes and sees the black flames surrounding him, but not harming him. He turns to his right and sees Keith standing next to him. Keith smiles. “You were right. We’re not dead.”

The two boys hold each other’s hands again as they approach the large black door. Lance looks at Keith nervously before grabbing the silver handle and pushing the door open. They cautiously step into a dimly lit hallway where stairs lead down farther towards a brightly lit room. Lance and Keith make their way down the stairs and hear the door shut and lock behind them.

Well, there’s no going back now.

They reach an archway and look around the room. The entire room is made of stone and not one piece of furniture is in sight. The only object in the room is the Mirror of Erised.

Standing in front of the mirror is none other than Professor Haxus Orson himself. Once Haxus hears them walk in, he turns around with a glare plastered on his face.

Lance did  _ not _ see that coming.

“You?! No! It can’t be! Thace, he was-” Lance starts.

“Yes, it does seem tight, doesn’t it?” Haxus interrupts. “Next to him, who would suspect timid professor Orson?”

Keith furrows his eyebrows. “But that day during the Quidditch match, Thace tried to kill me!”

Haxus scoffs. “No, dear boy…I TRIED TO KILL YOU!”

His voice echoes throughout the room, making Lance flinch slightly. He never viewed Haxus as an actual threat…’till now.

“If Thace’s cloak hadn’t caught fire and broken my eye contact, I would have killed you!” Haxus snarls at Keith. “Even with his pathetic little counter curse he was muttering, I would have sent you plummeting to the ground! The poor headmaster wouldn’t know what to do with himself!”

Lance’s eyes widen. “Thace was trying to  _ save him _ ?! Oops…”

Haxus raises his eyebrows. “Ah, so you’re the one who set his robes on fire. Hmm, I would’ve guessed your little Ravenclaw friend, but that doesn’t matter now! I knew you both would be a danger to me right after Halloween…despite the hatred you two had for each other, you two still managed to work together!”

Keith narrows his eyes, releases his grip on Lance’s hand, and starts walking down the stairs closer to Haxus. Lance wants to tug on Keith’s cloak to stop him, but he can’t bring himself to do it…he’s still paralyzed with fear.

“Then you let the troll in! That thing almost killed me!” Keith yells.

“Very good, Kogane, but, unfortunately Thace wasn’t fooled. While everyone else was running around in the dungeons, he headed to the third floor to stop me. He never trusted me again after that. He never left me alone!” Haxus exclaims.

Suddenly, Lance’s head starts to pound. He winces and rubs his temples, trying to make the pain go away. Lance notices Keith cringe slightly, but he seems to ignore the pain so he can continue glaring at Haxus.

“But he doesn’t understand that I’m never alone…never…” Haxus trails off thoughtfully

“Yeah, because you talk to yourself like a psycho!” Keith yells at him.

Haxus ignores Keith’s comment and turns back to the mirror. “Now, how do I get this mirror? I see what I desire. I see my reflection holding the Crystal, but how do I get it?!”

_ Use the boys _ , a voice whispers in the room.

Lance and Keith glance frantically around the room, trying to figure out where that voice came from. Lance recognizes the voice from the day his mother died, but he refuses to believe that the owner of that voice is Zarkon himself.

Haxus turns and yells, “Come here McClain and Kogane! NOW!”

Lance jumps, startled by his raised voice and hurries over. Keith, however, takes his sweet old time to approach the mirror. Haxus puts a hand on each of their shoulders and squeezes them. Lance fights back a whimper as Haxus’s nails dig into his skin.

“Tell me what you see!” Haxus shoves them both towards the mirror slightly before stepping to the side,

Lance reaches up to his shoulder and rubs it where Haxus had his death grip before turning to the mirror. He watches his reflection point over to Keith who pulls the Balmera’s Crystal out of his pocket.

Mirror Keith winks and slips it back inside his pocket. Mirror Lance gestures to real Keith so real Lance watches out of the corner of his eye as Keith feels his pockets. His eyes widen slightly when he touches something.

The Crystal’s in his pocket.

“What is it?! What do you see?!” Haxus demands.

“I-I’m holding the Quidditch cup while my team is cheering around me. I won it for them,” Keith replies with a straight face.

Haxus turns to Lance. “McClain?!”

“I see my mother,” Lance answers quietly.

_ They lie _ , Zarkon whispers.

“TELL THE TRUTH!” Haxus bellows. “WHAT DO YOU SEE?!”

_ Let me speak to them _ .

Haxus turns away from Lance and Keith and looks at the ground. “My lord, you aren’t strong enough.”

_ I am strong enough for this _ .

Haxus slowly removes the hat from his head to reveal a bald head, but also Zarkon’s face molded into the back of his skull. Lance gags slightly because this is probably one of the most disgusting things he’s seen in his life…and he has Marco as a brother! Then his eyes widen in fear and he tenses up. Lance never thought he’d see the face of his mother’s killer again. 

Keith glares at the reflection of Zarkon’s face the mirror before stepping in front of Lance protectively. He takes Lance’s hand and squeezes it.

“Lance McClain, Keith Kogane…we meet again,” Zarkon says.

Keith glares at him with the same intensity he used when glaring at the White Queen and King. “Zarkon,” he snarls. Lance’s grip on Keith’s hand tightens.

How could Keith be this brave about this?

Zarkon smirks slightly. “Yes, see what I’ve become? See what I must do to survive? I must live off another like a mere parasite! Unicorn blood can sustain me, but it cannot give me a body of my own.”

Lance pulls Keith closer to him, ready to sprint out of the room if anything bad happens.

“However, there is something that can,” Zarkon continues. “Something that is enough…it lies in Keith’s pocket!”

That’s his cue! Lance tugs Keith away from Haxus and Zarkon and they start running up the stairs to leave the room.

“STOP THEM!” Zarkon bellows.

Haxus snaps his fingers, causing the perimeter of the room to engulf in bright orange and yellow flames. Lance stops abruptly before he falls into the fire. He looks around the room, desperate to find a way out, but it’s too late…they’re trapped.

They turn back to Haxus and Zarkon. “Don’t be stupid. Why would you want to suffer a terrible death like your parents when you can join me and live? Imagine the things we could do together!”

A rush of confidence suddenly surges through Lance and he steps in front of Keith to glare at Haxus and Zarkon. “Never!” Lance yells.

Zarkon laughs. “Bravery…your mother had it too. Tell me, Lance, would you like to see your mother again? Keith, wouldn't you finally like a chance to meet your parents? I can bring them back.”

In the mirror, next to Zarkon’s face, Lance’s mother appears along with two other people Lance guesses are Keith’s parents. They both have black hair and are pale. His father has grey eyes, but his mother has the vibrant violet ones that Keith inherited. In Lance’s opinion, Keith takes after his mother’s appearance.

“All I need is something in return,” Zarkon continues, interrupting Lance’s train of thought.

Lance turns to Keith and watches him pull the Balmera’s Crystal out of his pocket. Getting a better look at it, Lance notices the glints of blue from inside the crystal. He thought it was just a see-through white originally.

“That’s it! Boys, there is no good and evil in this world. The only thing that exists is power…anyone too weak to see it doesn’t deserve it. Just give me the Crystal and I can give you anything you want.”

Lance looks back at the mirror and watches his mother and Keith’s parents disappear. Fury overcomes him and he glares at Zarkon. “You liar!” he yells.

“KILL THEM!” Zarkon orders.

Haxus leaps forward at Keith first since he has the Crystal in his hand. Keith shoves Lance out of the way as Haxus tackles him to the ground, causing Keith to drop the Crystal down the stairs slightly. Haxus grabs Keith’s throat with his hand and begins to choke him.

“Keith!” Lance exclaims. He goes to stand up and help, but Zarkon hisses at him, forcing him to stay away.

Keith struggles to breathe as Haxus continues to crush his throat. He scratches and grabs at Haxus’s hand, trying to tear it off. Once Keith’s hands touch Haxus’s skin, it starts to burn and smoke up. Blisters appear and Lance can smell burning flesh - ew.

Haxus yells in pain and pulls his hand away. The blisters bubble and consume his hand before it completely turns to ashes and falls to the ground. Haxus’s eyes widen in fear. “What is this magic?!”

“You fool! Get the Crystal!” Zarkon yells.

Haxus disregards his missing hand and starts heading for the Crystal. Feeling brave once again, Lance steps in Haxus path and grabs his arm, causing it to frost up and turn blue.

Haxus’s eyes widen in fear and Lance moves his hands to Haxus’s face. It begins to frost up and turn blue.

Lance pushes Haxus back into the wall and steps back when Haxus and Zarkon both start yelling in pain. Their faces completely freeze in place before Haxus slowly falls to the ground on his hands and knees. Half of his body collapses in on itself and turns to ashes while the other half completely freezes over before shattering into ice pieces.

Keith scrambles up to his feet and runs to hug Lance tightly. Lance embraces Keith back and holds him tightly for a few seconds before he releases Keith to pick up the Crystal. He smiles at it triumphantly. Keith begins to smile too, but he gasps and points behind Lance as smoke begins to circle around before forming into Zarkon’s face.

Lance and Keith grab each other once again and scream as Zarkon’s face flies straight through them, causing them to fall backwards on the ground. Keith hits first and falls unconscious, head hitting one of the stairs. Lance’s skull rattles as he hits the ground. His vision turns fuzzy and he can barely make out Zarkon’s spirit soar through the fire and fly out of the room.

His eyelids flutter shut and the world becomes dark…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O N E M O R E C H A P T E R!!!!!!! *screaming*
> 
> This has been SO fun writing! You can expect the final chapter to be posted mid to late next week (maybe Wednesday or Thursday idk). I have already started outlining the plans for book 2...it's gonna be hella lit if I do say so myself. I'm switching up the POVs tho. This book you got to get into Lance's head, but in the next one it's gonna shift the POV over to Keith since both Keith AND Lance are equal threats to Zarkon (in case you haven't picked up on that yet).
> 
> I shouldn't be giving spoilers, but here's something: *whisper* our favorite Gryffindor gets to shine on a broom...
> 
> Interpret that as you please :)
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!  
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)


	16. The Final Feast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the year ends, the students gather together one last time to enjoy some food and see who wins the Quidditch and House cup before leaving to head back home over the summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE FRICKEN SYMBOLS ARE BACK *explodes*
> 
> What a way to end this...
> 
> ALSO NEW PICTURES HAVE BEEN ADDED TO CHAPTERS 2 AND 7 SO YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY GO CHECK THAT OUT :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Lance stirs, finally waking up. He blinks a couple times and looks around the room, trying to figure out where he is.

“Lance?” a voice sounds next to him.

He turns and sees Keith sitting up in a bed beside him. They must be in the infirmary. How long were they out?

“Keith, how did we get here?” Lance asks. “And how-”

He stops abruptly when he notices the  _ Get Well Soon _ cards on the table next to him and the large cart of sweets between him and Keith.

“Oh! You’re both awake!” Shiro exclaims, walking into the room. “I was beginning to worry you two wouldn’t. Oddly enough Slav was one hundred percent confident you would…but I won’t be the one to admit he was right.” He smiles at Lance and Keith. “Lance, your family was relieved when I told them we found you. Same with you, Keith. Lance’s family was equally concerned about you as they were with Lance.”

Lance snickers. “Well, Lucy did make him an honorary McClain so that’s probably got something to do with it.”

Shiro smiles and cocks an eyebrow when he looks at the candy cart. He lifts an opened chocolate frog box and chuckles. “I think Hunk saved you from dealing with the chocolate frog.”

“Hunk was here? He’s okay?” Lance asks. “What about Pidge? Is-”

Shiro holds up a hand to silence Lance. “Yes, they’re both okay.”

“Wait! The Crystal! Haxus-” Keith starts.

“Both of you need to relax. The Crystal has been destroyed,” Shiro shares. “I met with Nicholas Flamel and told him what you two did. He shared the story of how he and Allura’s father, Alfor, go way back as friends and how the Balmera’s Crystal came into existence. We came to an agreement that the Crystal needed to be destroyed. He knew Alfor would agree with our decision.”

“When we read about the Crystal, it said it’s the thing that was keeping him and his wife alive,” Keith says. “Won’t he die now that it’s gone?”

Shiro sits on the edge of Keith’s bed and pats his leg. “He has enough elixir to make sure him and his wife die peacefully. Besides, he agreed that almost seven hundred years is a long enough life.” He looks between Lance and Keith. “Tell me, do you two know why Haxus wasn’t able to harm you or why he burned or froze whenever you two touched him?”

Lance and Keith shake their heads no.

“Because you two had the protection of your parents’ love. Lance, your mother died to protect you. Her love gave you the power to protect yourself from Haxus. Keith, your parents sacrificed themselves to save you so their love gave you the power to protect yourself,” Shiro explains.

“I have a question, though,” Lance starts. “How come Keith and I could get the Crystal, but Haxus couldn’t?”

Shiro chuckles. “That was part of my spell I put on the mirror. Allura told me that you two discovered it one night when you were sneaking around with that invisibility cloak of yours.”

“You know about that?!” Lance asks, baffled.

“Of course! I’m the one who gave it to you after all,” Shiro reveals. “I found it while I was cleaning out my office so I could finish moving my stuff in. It was in a box of some of Alfor’s leftover belongings. He put a note on it and said it belonged to your mother, Lance. I’m not sure how she came across it, but I thought you should have it. Sorry about the anonymity, but I didn’t need you bringing Keith, Pidge, and Hunk to my office to bombard me with questions.”

“That doesn’t answer why Haxus couldn’t find the Crystal,” Keith butts in.

Shiro chuckles and smiles fondly at Keith. “You can’t wait for anything, can you?”

Keith gives Shiro an unamused expression before turning to Lance. “See what I have to deal with? He’s so annoying.”

Lance laughs at Keith’s insult while Shiro ruffles up Keith’s hair before standing up.

“Haxus wasn’t able to get the Crystal because he wanted to find it for what it could do. He had selfish intentions. You two, on the other hand, wanted to find it for itself. You wanted to protect it from being misused,” Shiro explains. “That’s why you both were able to obtain it.”

Keith furrows his eyebrows. “So, what-”

“Come back here! I never allowed you two to come in here!” Slav exclaims from outside the doorway.

Pidge and Hunk come running into the infirmary. Their faces light up with smiles when they see Keith and Lance awake.

“You’re okay! THANK GOODNESS!” Hunk exclaims.

“You two have to tell us everything you saw. Don’t leave a thing out!” Pidge demands, hopping on the edge of Lance’s bed. “Actually, I’ll first share how Hunk and I got out of that chess room. It was WEIRD! Okay so first…”

As Pidge starts her story, Lance turns to Keith and they exchange a smile with each other.

For now, the world is once again safe from the clutches of Zarkon because Lance is willing to bet there are other ways he can come back.

But Lance is ready for anything Zarkon decides to throw at him. His friends will have his back and that’s all he needs.

 

* * *

 

After a few days, Slav finally lets Lance and Keith leave the infirmary. He claims he wanted to monitor them a little longer, but Lance knows he didn’t want to say goodbye to them just yet. It’s okay, Lance knows how he really feels even if he denies it.

Pidge and Hunk meet Keith and Lance outside the infirmary before making their way to the Great Hall for the end of year feast. Shiro gets to give his farewell speech and both the Quidditch and House Cups are awarded. Lance knows for sure Slytherin is getting the Quidditch Cup, but he honestly has no idea about the House Cup. It’s anyone’s game for that, but Slytherin racking up the points in Quidditch certainly did help them. Lance wouldn’t be upset if Slytherin did win, but it’d be nice to see Gryffindor flags hanging in the Great Hall.

Lance says goodbye to his friends before making his way over to the Gryffindor table where Delia and Paul have saved him a seat. They wave him over. “Hey Lance! Feeling better?” Delia asks as Lance plops down next to her. Paul smiles at him from across the table.

“Yeah! Thanks for asking,” Lance replies. “I got your guys’ cards too. They were really nice.”

“We were worried, but Professor Shirogane and Professor Quinn told us everything would be okay.”

“So, when are you gonna tell us what happened? We only got part of the story from Hunk and Pidge,” Paul says.

Lance chuckles. “Okay, well, where-”

“Attention everyone! Before I announce the winners of the Quidditch and House Cups, I have a few words to say,” Shiro says, getting everyone’s attention. “Becoming the headmaster here at Hogwarts was such an honor - something I didn’t expect to get because there are plenty of other professors who deserve the job more than I do. Coran, Samuel - basically any professor who has been here longer than me. The reason why a new headmaster was chosen is because Alfor Quinn went missing and was presumed dead, but no one knows for sure. Whatever happened to Allura’s father is a tragedy and I’ve been working closely with the Ministry to figure out what happened…that’s why I haven’t been here as much as I wanted to.” He turns to glance back at Allura. “I promise to be better next year.” He faces the students once again. “Anyway! Time to announce the winner of the Quidditch Cup! It was a tight battle to win, but one team shined through.”

Lance watches as Matt brings Shiro a large silver trophy, but he doesn’t look very happy about it. This probably means Ravenclaw probably didn’t win. Lance feels bad for Pidge, but not Matt…he deserves it for his comments during Quidditch games whenever Ravenclaw played against anyone. He can be very mean and vulgar when he doesn't get what he wants.

“Thank you, Matt. Now, the winner of the Quidditch Cup is…” Shiro pauses for dramatic effect. “Slytherin!”

The entire Slytherin table erupts in cheers and Lance can see Ryland and another player lift Keith onto their shoulders. People start cheering Keith’s last name.

“I'd like to invite the team’s captain to come up and accept the trophy,” Shiro says once the noise dies down.

Ryland ruffles Keith's hair and high fives a few people as he runs over to the podium. Shiro shakes Ryland’s hand and takes the trophy. He holds it up triumphantly in the air which causes the Slytherin table to go nuts again. Shiro sends Ryland back to his spot before standing at the microphone again.

“Now the House Cup. In fourth place with three hundred and seventy-two points is Hufflepuff,” Shiro announces.

Everyone who isn't in Hufflepuff claps politely for them. Hunk had been telling Lance it wasn't a good year for Hufflepuff to win.

“In third place with four hundred and seven points is Ravenclaw,” Shiro announces next.

People clap again. It's better, but still not as high as Gryffindor and Slytherin probably.

“In second place with four hundred and forty-eight points is Gryffindor,” Shiro announces. “And in first place with four hundred and fifty-six points is Slytherin.”

The Slytherin table cheers loudly again as the banners at the top of the Great Hall change from Hufflepuff to the Slytherin.

“But wait!” Shiro exclaims. “I have some last-minute points to give out. For Katherine Holt, fifty points will be awarded for showing high skills in magic and using what she learned in action. For Tsuyoshi Garett, fifty points will be awarded for playing the best game of wizard’s chess in history. For Keith Kogane, sixty points will be awarded for showing bravery in a tough time and refusing to back down from a fight. For Lance McClain, sixty points will be awarded for stepping up and showing just how smart and knowledgeable you really are.”

Everyone cheers for Lance and his friends, but stop when Shiro holds his hand up to silence everyone.

“An additional ten points will be awarded to Marco McClain for standing up for what he believes is right even though not everyone will agree with him,” Shiro finishes. “With a final score of five hundred and eighteen, Gryffindor wins the House Cup!”

The Gryffindor table jumps up and cheers loudly. Lance is certain the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables join in because they're probably happy Slytherin didn't win, but it’s too loud in the Great Hall to be sure. He also doesn’t notice Keith sneaking behind him before he nearly tackles Lance in a hug. Lance turns and smiles widely at Keith before hugging him tightly.

The teachers didn’t bother telling everyone to return to their houses’ tables so Keith, Pidge, and Hunk were able to sit with Lance during the ending feast. This had to be the best food Lance has eaten all year!

Maybe it’s because his friends were with him, but that’s beside the point.

After dinner, grades arrive and Pidge and Hunk tied for the top of the class. Lance isn’t surprised about it since they’re both crazy smart. Though, Lance and Keith did make the top fifteen. Keith had higher grades in Astronomy, Transfiguration, and Charms so he placed higher than Lance, but Lance had higher in Potions and Herbology, despite freaking out at the Devil’s Snare.

What? It was a tense situation and his brain could only focus on the fact he was about to die!

Anyway, after everyone looks at their grades, the teachers send the students up to their dorms to pack up their belongings. Lance fools around with Paul a bit with the invisibility cloak before Carlos yells at them and threatens to turn them into toads.

Paul didn’t believe Carlos would do it, but Lance knows he’s serious.

Carlos did it to Marco when he wouldn’t stop bugging him two years ago…Marco was an annoying first year.

Once Paul and Lance finally pack up their trunks, they make their way out of the castle and over to the carriages that will take them to the train station. They find Delia, Hunk, Shay, Pidge, and Keith waiting for them. Lance fist bumps Hunk and elbows Keith playfully before they get in the carriage.

The ride’s short from the castle to the station. Lance gets a nice view of the tree-covered path. It’d probably look pretty in the wintertime.

Hunk taps Lance’s shoulder and gestures for him to move out of the carriage. “Lance!” Pidge calls from the doors to the train. “Let’s go!”

Lance smiles and hops out of the carriage and ruffles her hair before following her on. Delia and Paul split off from Lance and his friends as they take a seat in one of the empty compartments. Lance plops down between Pidge and Keith while Hunk and Shay sit on the opposite side.

“So, are you guys sad the school year is done?” Lance wonders.

“I am!” Pidge exclaims. “I loved being here!”

“I mean I’m gonna miss you guys, but I’m thankful I won’t have any more stupid homework from Thace to do,” Lance says with a chuckle.

“Oh, you mean something you can easily do without trying?” Keith asks with a raised eyebrow. “I saw your marks and Hunk always complained during Astronomy.”

Lance scoffs. “Oh, come on! I can be good at a subject while still hating the teacher!”

Shay giggles. “It was always funny to see Hunk get frustrated when we did homework together. He was ready to use a truth potion on you to learn your secrets, Lance.”

“Aww, Hunk! You’d never need to use that on me! I’d always tell you my secrets!” Lance smiles widely.

“His secret is that he does it to piss Thace off,” Keith reveals dully as he reads another one of the astronomy books Hunk’s family got him.

“KEITH!” Lance shrieks. “Don’t tell him that!”

Pidge chuckles. “That’s amazing! Sometimes, I tried to blackmail Matt into helping me sneak into dad’s office to see what his lesson plans were, but we always got busted.”

Lance gasps. “Katherine Holt! How dare you blackmail the greatest professor Hogwarts has ever had?!”

“First of all, Matt’s not the greatest teacher, Shiro probably was. Second of all, don’t ever say that again, Matt could hear you!” Pidge scolds. “Anyway, we all have to promise to write to each other. I’ve got Rover to send around so, Keith, look out for him. Lance has Blue and I’m sure Hunk will be using her too.”

“My parents do have an owl, but I’ll probably use Blue occasionally,” Hunk says.

“I’ve got an owl! Well, technically she belongs to Rax, but he lets me use her,” Shay shares.

Lance turns to Keith. “Keith?”

Keith looks up from his book. “Uh…no. I don’t have access to an owl. The foster home I go back to doesn’t have an owl.”

“Wait, you’re going back to a wizard foster home and they don’t have an owl? That’s dumb,” Pidge comments.

“It’s not a foster home for wizard kids. I mean it’s just an ordinary foster home but the man who owns it is a Squib so he knows what I am,” Keith clarifies. “But the only kid who does know is the man’s kid who is actually a wizard - he goes to Durmstrang.” He shuts his book. “So, no, I don’t have an owl.”

“What about Shiro?” Hunk wonders.

“Since the bodies of my parents were never found, he’s unable to adopt me until that’s sorted out,” Keith explains. “It sucks, but the foster home isn’t that bad. The kids are a little mean, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Keith-” Lance starts.

“It’s okay, really,” Keith interrupts. “I’ll be able to use Rover and Blue when you guys send them over.”

The train whistles, signaling that they’re at the train station. Keith, Pidge, Shay, Hunk, and Lance all dismount from the train. Shay waves goodbye to them since she spots her parents first. Lance turns to his friends and smiles sadly at them. “Well, this is it,” Lance begins. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do since I can’t - OOF!”

Pidge suddenly latches onto Lance, gripping him around the waist tightly. She buries her face in Lance’s chest. “Just shut up! Don’t make this harder than it needs to be!”

Lance chuckles and ruffles her hair. “Aww, Pidgey…I’m gonna miss you too.”

Hunk’s eyes water and he joins in the hug. “I’m already crying. I’m gonna miss you guys so much!”

“Hunk, you’re neighbors with Lance. What-” Keith tries, but Lance pulls him into the hug too.

“It’s okay to cry, Keith,” Lance says, holding him tightly. “I know you’re jealous of Hunk. I’d be jealous too.”

Keith chuckles and rests his chin on Lance’s shoulder. “Shut up, McClain.”

After a few more seconds of hugging, Lance releases his friends and steps back to smile at Keith. “Not a chance, Kogane.”

“KATIE! LET’S GO!” Matt yells from across the room. He motions for her to join him and their parents.

Lance sees Professor Holt chuckle at something his wife said before kissing her on the cheek. Pidge waves to her friends and hurries over to her family. When Mrs. Holt sees her, she smiles and hugs Pidge. Lance smiles to himself, remembering the times he had with his mom.

Hunk tugs his arm. “Lance, it’s time to go.”

Lance turns to Keith, but sees he’s already with Shiro and Allura. “Oh, right.” He follows Hunk over to their families.

When his dad and Isa see him, they smile widely. Isa runs over to him and nearly tackles him in a hug. “Lance! Oh, I missed you so much!” She kisses his cheek then hugs him tightly again. “How was - oh…you have a little friend following you.”

Lance turns around and sees Red sitting on the ground, licking her paw. She notices Lance looking at her so she stops and tilts her head. Red flicks her tail and meows at Lance before walking up to him and brushing up against his leg. “Red!” Lance picks her up and scratches her behind the ears.

“You know this cat?” Isa wonders. Red turns to her when she speaks and blinks at her.

“Yeah! She belongs to one of my friends! I'll be right back,” Lance says as he weaves his way through the groups of students and families before walking up behind Keith. Lance uses Red’s paw to tap Keith’s shoulder.

Keith turns around, confused at first before forming an expression of irritation. “Ugh! She got out  _ again _ ?!” He takes Red out of Lance’s hands and glares at her. “You’re a bad girl, you know that?”

Red whines and nuzzles against Keith’s chin. Lance chuckles then says, “Nah, she’s a good girl. She just wanted to say goodbye to her second favorite human!”

Keith tilts his head in confusion. “Second? Who’s the first?”

Lance chuckles. “Duh, it’s you.” Lance kisses the top of Red’s head before turning to Keith again. “See you next year, Kogane.”

Keith smiles. “Goodbye Lance.”

Lance gives Keith a quick hug before making his way back to his family. He waves to Shiro and Allura when they rejoin Keith.

Relief rushes across Lance. No more threat of Zarkon, no more stupid homework from Thace, and no more delicious food-

Wait. That last one kinda bums Lance out a bit.

Oh well, maybe summer will fly by quickly! September is only four and a half months away! Who knows what next year has in store?

Only time will tell…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> H O L Y C H E E S E B A L L S  
> I can't believe it's over! I started this AU in May and now it's nearing the end of July. I'm so happy with the positive feedback this AU has been getting, and I assure you it doesn't end here. I already have book 2 outlined and even started writing chapter 1 of that. I wanted to get it out before season 3 dropped, but I doubt that's gonna happen. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I have! Thanks for sticking through the end!
> 
> Klance is endgame - don't worry about that (spoiler: you'll get some low-key pining Keith in the next book)
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are appreciated! Stay tuned for the second installment!  
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my other series [here](http://archiveofourown.org/series/736509)!


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